ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The Diamondbacks trail the Rays, 4-1, as action on Saturday, June 27, moved into the seventh inning at Tropicana Field.

Diamondbacks starting pitcher José Cabrera gave up a pair of home runs, one each to the Rays’ best hitters. The sizzling Junior Caminero yanked a solo home run over the corner wall in left field in the bottom of the first, and Jonathan Aranda went deep for a two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the fifth.

The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the first, as they did in Friday’s series opener. Geraldo Perdomo’s headfirst slide helped him get a hand on home plate despite the throw from the outfield beating him on Corbin Carroll’s single.

Cabrera escaped trouble in the third when the Rays put two runners on base with one out and had Caminero at the plate. But Cabrera got Caminero to fly out on a pitch slightly outside, then induced clean-up hitter Victor Mesa Jr. to foul out and end the inning.

After recording the first two outs of the fifth, Cabrera walked Yandy Diaz before Aranda got a hold of a sweeper that found perhaps too much of home plate.

Cabrera allowed back-to-back bunt singles to start the sixth and was replaced by Juan Morillo. His final line shows four runs allowed on five hits with four strikeouts in five-plus innings.

The Rays tacked on a run in the sixth on a Cedric Mullins sacrifice fly.

Kepler has new outlook on game after return

Diamondbacks outfielder Max Kepler was set to make his second straight start in left field on Saturday, June 27, a day after playing in his first major league regular-season game since last Sept. 28.

Kepler completed his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug and was activated by the Diamondbacks on June 25. He was in Friday’s lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

He said playing again made him grateful to still be in baseball, and that being away from the game was humbling for him.

“I never had been out of it for the last 15, 16 years, so to have been out of that for a brief moment just kind of made me realize how difficult it is to get back into it,” Kepler said. “So yeah, back with a deeper appreciation and understanding that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Kepler said he hopes to play the game with that kind of appreciation in his mind.

“I’m not going to be as hard on myself as I was in past,” he said. “Where I might have taken some things for granted because you’re just in a constant flow of playing, I feel refreshed. But at the same time, also, I need to make up for the time I lost. So it’s like a fine line that I’m trying to balance here.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he wanted to get Kepler in the big leagues as soon as possible and told Kepler he would get a lot of at-bats against right-handed pitching.

“I believe in getting guys here, getting their spikes dirty and getting back into a rhythm as quick as possible,” Lovullo said. “He’s been away from the game for a long time, and it was his opportunity to get in there and show us what he’s capable of doing.”

Coming up

Sunday, June 28: At Tampa, 10:40 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-7, 5.71) vs. Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (6-4, 2.62).

Monday, June 29: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-2, 2.27) vs. Giants RHP Tyler Mahle (1-7, 5.49).

Tuesday, June 30: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 5.92) vs. Giants RHP Landen Roupp (5-7, 4.07).

(This story has been updated to add information.)

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks at Rays updates. Tampa Bay’s home runs have them in lead