TAMPA — Back in the old days — all the way back to mid-May — the Rays were 18-22.
They were averaging a paltry 3.8 runs per game and were in fourth place in the American League East.
That team is a distant memory.
Over the last 32 games, the new-look Rays have gone 22-10, they’re scoring 5.7 runs per game, and they’ve moved into second place in the division at only 2 ½ games behind the Yankees.
Tampa Bay continued its out-of-nowhere offensive resurgence on Monday night with a 7-1 win against the Orioles in the opener of a seven-game homestand at Steinbrenner Field. They’ve scored seven runs or more in four consecutive games for the first time in more than a year.
“It’s a blast, to put it very simply,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, who hit a 426-foot homer in the fourth. “This is something that a lot of guys felt was going to start coming around with the work that guys put in this offseason. We just needed to click. And it’s been clicking, for sure.”
![The Rays' Brandon Lowe hits a single during the first inning. "We just needed to click. And it’s been clicking, for sure," he says of the Rays' surge.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E "The Rays' Brandon Lowe hits a single during the first inning. \"We just needed to click. And it’s been clicking, for sure,\" he says of the Rays' surge.")
The Rays’ Brandon Lowe hits a single during the first inning. “We just needed to click. And it’s been clicking, for sure,” he says of the Rays’ surge. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
The beauty of this offense has been its diversity. They don’t hit a ton of home runs, but they hit enough. The team batting average is respectable, but not outrageous. They walk less than they should and strike out more than they should, but somehow it all works in unison.
On Monday night, they scored in each of the first five innings with two homers, two bunts and 12 hits off former teammate Zach Eflin through five innings.
“Whatever the game’s calling for, we try to get it done,” said centerfielder Jake Mangum, who drove in three runs with two infield singles and a double. “We have a bunch of different guys that are playing their style of baseball. For example, I play a lot different game than (Junior) Caminero. Everyone has their thing that they do well, and (that’s) why they’re here.
“If you mix that up and have a good bunch together that are right between the ears, like a lot of guys are, that’s just a special, special team, man.”
The Rays’ Jake Mangum hits a double during the fifth inning. “Whatever the game’s calling for, we try to get it done,” he says. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
There are a lot of reasons for the offensive turnaround, almost too many to identify a simple explanation. There’s been the baserunning that has managed to get more aggressive without running into excessive outs. There’s Josh Lowe and Mangum coming off the injured list in May. There’s production from the bottom of the order with guys like Danny Jansen, Christopher Morel and Taylor Walls heating up.
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But if you were forced to pick one reason it would be Caminero, B-Lowe and Yandy Diaz and their power strokes.
The Rays hit 32 home runs in their first 40 games, but then hit 45 in the next 32 games.
“It’s contagious, really,” said J-Lowe, who homered to lead off the bottom of the first. “Good teams, when you get hot, it’s contagious. Guys are rushing to the bat rack to go up there and hit. Every single night it’s one through nine. It’s not one guy. It’s a really good time to be on the offense right now.”
Of course, it was not just the offense taking care of business on Monday. Ryan Pepiot threw a career-high eight innings while striking out 11 to lower his ERA to 3.11.
Rays starter Ryan Pepiot reacts after striking out Baltimore’s Dylan Carlson to end the top of the eighth inning. He had 11 Ks on the night. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
“He was incredible tonight,” said manager Kevin Cash. “As good of stuff as I’ve seen him have, and he’s had a lot of good, really solid outings this year. That one probably tops it. Just the depth that he was creating on the changeup, it made the fastball play up 4 mph, or it felt like it from the (dugout). You saw some top-of-the-zone fastballs that there wasn’t much of an answer for.”
Pepiot threw only 98 pitches but any thought he had of a complete game was eliminated when Cash greeted him with a handshake at the end of the eighth inning. Newly acquired reliever Forrest Whitley threw a perfect ninth inning to finish it off.
Pepiot, who improved to 4-6, has not been the beneficiary of too many offensive outbursts like this. He came into the game with the lowest run support per nine innings (3.42) of anyone in the Rays rotation.
“It’s been fun to watch the guys swing the bats,” Pepiot said. “Top (or) bottom of the lineup, it’s been somebody new every night. Doing a phenomenal job in different ways. Morel with a phenomenal bunt tonight, Josh starting out with a leadoff homer, B-Lowe with a big homer as well. Guys just spraying the ball over the yard. It makes it easier to go out there and attack the zone.”
John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.
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