ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WWSB) – The Rays got back on track at home this week, completing a series sweep of American League East rival Boston at home on Wednesday afternoon, 7-5.
Heading into their current series with the visiting Red Sox, Tampa Bay had struggled in the early part of June. They were swept at home against the Detroit Tigers, and then dropped two-of-three in a road series with their in-state rival Marlins down in Miami.
Tampa Bay started their current series with the Red Sox at Tropicana Field on Monday, and were able to grab wins in the first two games of the series.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Rays were tied with the Yankees atop the American League East, and wanted to keep pace, while sweeping a divisional rival.
The Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen was on point on Wednesday, starting the game with three-straight strikeouts to build momentum for his ball club. He was stellar through his first six innings of work, tallying ten strikeouts, and tying a career high dating back to September of 2022 against New York at Yankee Stadium.
Rasmussen would go on to break that mark, cementing a new career-high with an incredible thirteen strikeouts through seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk on 97 pitches.
On the offensive side, several Rays bats came alive. Tampa Bay catcher Nick Fortes went 4-4 on the day with two doubles. He also scored three runs in the game during the third, fifth, and sixth innings.
A sacrifice fly from Rays’ shortstop Taylor Walls scored Fortes in the bottom of the third inning to make it 1-0 Tampa Bay. In the bottom of the fifth inning, designated hitter Yandy Diaz drove in Fortes from third base to make it 2-0. Right fielder Austin Slater and left fielder Ryan Vilade also drove in runs in a three-run fifth inning, making it a 4-0 Rays advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, Yandy Diaz singled to left, scoring Fortes for a 5-0 Tampa Bay lead heading into the seventh inning.
The Rays pulled Rasmussen entering the eighth inning, and that’s when things got a little interesting. Cole Sulser gave up a solo home run to Caleb Durbin to make it 5-1. He was pulled in favor of Steven Matz, who gave up a three-run home run to Ceddanne Rafaela, making it a 5-4 contest. Casey Legumina came in to record the final out of the inning for the Rays.
Cedric Mullins added some breathing room for the Rays in the bottom half of the eighth with a two-run shot out to right field, scoring Chandler Simpson, and making it 7-4 Tampa Bay.
The Rays hung on to grab the 7-5 victory in front of 16,504 in attendance, and got a series sweep against their divisional rival. Tampa Bay now shifts its attention to the west coast, as they start back-to-back road series in southern California against the Angels and Dodgers on Friday.
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