A double, a pinch-runner, a short fly and yet another one-run Rays win

TAMPA — Here’s the assignment:

Enter a tie game as a pinch-runner with one out in the eighth inning. Make it from second base to home plate safely with only a 267-foot fly ball to help you along. There were no instructions from the bench. No signs or nudges needed to convince Jose Caballero what to do.

“Cabbie is about as fearless a player as I’ve been around,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash.

Two pitches later, Caballero stole third base.

“It’s unbelievable, right?” Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen said. “The guy is a freak athlete.”

Two pitches later, Brandon Lowe lifted a short fly — or a long popup — to shallow centerfield. Did he think it was deep enough?

“No,” Lowe said flatly.

Caballero tagged up anyway and scored when Dane Myers’ throw home went up the first-base line.

“You see Cabbie take off and you’re like, ‘Please, please get in there.’” Lowe said. “I was hoping to hit it deeper, but I was overjoyed to see him get in safely and give us the lead.”

That’s it. That’s how the Rays beat the Marlins 3-2 on Sunday to win for the 14th time in 18 games.

Yandy Díaz runs to second after hitting a one-out double in the eighth inning. Jose Caballero, who pinch-ran for Diaz, came around to score the eventual winning run. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]

Oh, there were other reasons. Yandy Diaz hit a two-run homer and the eighth-inning double that brought Caballero out of the dugout. Rasmussen saw his career-high scoreless streak end at 23 ⅔ innings but still threw six strong innings while giving up only two runs.

Edwin Uceta, after a shaky appearance Friday night, threw two shutout innings to close out the game, and there were some nice defensive plays from shortstop Taylor Walls, centerfielder Kameron Misner and catcher Matt Thaiss.

But it was, for the most part, a low-key game. The kind of game where little things like baserunning and situational hitting matter. The kind of game the Rays have gotten pretty darn good at playing lately.

It was their sixth one-run game in the last eight days. The Rays won four of them.

“With one-run wins, there’s not a ton of margin for error,” Cash said. “With 3-2 and lower-scoring games, you’ve got to pitch well, you’ve got to defend well, you’ve got to get timely hits. It feels like we’ve done that and certainly did that (Sunday).”

The only real surprise is the Marlins didn’t seem too concerned about Caballero’s baserunning exploits. Nobody in the American League has attempted as many steals as Caballero the past two seasons, and yet right-handed reliever Valente Bellozo seemed focused on Lowe at the plate.

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“I just saw an opportunity to score a run. I always try to advance those extra 90 feet,” said Caballero of his 21st steal of the season. “He wasn’t really paying attention to me. The shortstop was behind me, but the pitcher wasn’t really paying attention to me. So I noticed that and took off.

“I feel like it’s just two things that can happen. You either get thrown out, or you’re on third with one out. It’s one or the other. I just took the risk, and it paid off.”

Rays reliever Edwin Uceta bounces back from a rough outing Friday by throwing two scoreless innings to close out the game. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]

This is the way the Rays are built on offense. With speed, versatility and a deep bench. It’s not always as sexy as Saturday’s 11-10 loss to Miami in 10 innings, but the hope is that the Rays will eventually wear down teams.

The Marlins, who used a bullpen day on the mound, did a lot of things right on Sunday. They had more hits than the Rays. They went 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Their pitchers only walked one hitter. And it still wasn’t enough.

“There are days when we’re not going to hit. The offense isn’t going to be there,” said Diaz, through team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “But (Sunday), our defense was there and the baserunning was good, and we did our job.”

With Junior Caminero and Lowe on hot streaks, Jonathan Aranda putting up All-Star-caliber numbers and Josh Lowe coming back from the injured list, the Rays have a much more potent offense than they did in March/April.

But, even with more runs crossing the plate, they’re not going to bludgeon too many opponents.

So games like this, and the occasionally fearless baserunning plays from someone like Caballero, will make a bigger and bigger difference as the season progresses.

“On days when you’re not scoring a ton of runs, anything you can do to move that needle in your favor is going to be a big, big deal,” Brandon Lowe said. “So Cabby getting to third base with less than two outs made it a lot easier for me to get the job done. Little things can make a huge difference.”

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