Jake Mangum finally gets to play at Citi Field; he and Rays are a hit

NEW YORK — Jake Mangum had been waiting a long time for the chance to play at Citi Field.

Since June 4, 2019, to be exact, the day he was drafted out of Mississippi State in the fourth round by the Mets.

“When I got drafted and spent four years with the Mets, this was where, like, your dream destination was,” Mangum said. “So to get here and play a game here, really cool. Great atmosphere. Really loud. Really crowded. And it was good to see some old friends on the other side.”

Even better, to help his current Rays team beat his old mates.

Mangum delivered the first of two big hits in a six-run sixth inning Friday, as the Rays rallied from a four-run deficit, then hung on for a 7-5 victory over a Mets team that started the day with the majors’ best record.

The win, as many have been during the Rays’ recent run of success, was the product of many contributions.

Danny Jansen hit a two-run homer to cap the sixth-inning outburst. Edwin Uceta and Eric Orze, also former Mets, combined to get eight key outs on a night when starter Taj Bradley worked only four innings. Josh Lowe snared a Juan Soto missile to the rightfield wall to quell an eighth-inning Mets threat. Pete Fairbanks got into and out of a ninth-inning jam to seal it.

“There’s so many different guys that helped us win that ballgame,” Mangum said.

The Rays’ Danny Jansen, right, celebrates with Kameron Misner after they scored on Jansen’s two-run home run during the sixth inning. [ FRANK FRANKLIN II | Associated Press ]

The Rays, after losing the last two games in Boston, improved to 37-32, winning for the 10th time in their last 15 games.

That didn’t seem likely going to the sixth inning, as the Mets took advantage of Bradley’s second straight rough start, including four walks, and some uncharacteristically sloppy Rays defense to hold a 5-1 lead.

Having been held to three hits by Mets starter Clay Holmes, the Rays were pleased to welcome the Mets bullpen.

By the time the inning was over, they turned five singles, a run-scoring groundout and Jansen’s homer into a 7-5 advantage.

“It goes a long way to put balls in play, put pressure on the defense,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We did. We pieced together a big inning, and then Danny had the final blow with the two-run homer give us a lead.”

As the inning started, Jansen, was who due to hit eighth, was still wearing his catcher’s gear, waiting to see what happened.

In the bullpen, Fairbanks was having a hard time keeping track.

“I was sitting down there and I’m scratching my head, like I didn’t even know what was going on,” Fairbanks said.

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After Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda loaded the bases, and Junior Caminero popped out, Mangum singled sharply to center, scoring two to cut the gap to 5-3.

The Rays’ Yandy Díaz runs to home plate to score on a single by Jake Mangum during the sixth inning. [ FRANK FRANKLIN II | Associated Press ]

“I’d say all the hits before in that inning were big,” Mangum said. “Bases were loaded because guys got on, so it was everybody. I just was happy to get a base hit there, get some runs across.”

Max Kranick replaced Paul Blackburn and the Rays greeted him just as warmly.

Manager Kevin Cash sent Mangum as Jose Caballero batted with two strikes and hit a grounder to short, and that worked as the Mets had to take the out at first rather than a double play, the lead cut to 6-4. Rookie Kameron Misner singled to make it 6-5. Then Jansen, now fully ready to take his swings, hit the two-run homer to left-center.

“We just kind of kept passing the baton, passing it right down the line,” Jansen said. “Base hits, base hits, moving guys over, getting guys in, and then definitely felt great with the home run. But it sets up with the guys in front. They were putting up all the at-bats and put the balls in play and getting on base and stuff.”

The Rays couldn’t exactly coast to the finish, as they played a ninth-straight game decided by one or two runs.

With Bradley, who was hit on the back of the right foot by a ball in the fourth inning, working only four batters into the fourth (walking three of them), Cash had to work his bullpen craftily after retaking the lead.

He used one of his lefties, Mason Montgomery, to open the sixth, and the other, Garrett Cleavinger, to finish it, then face the Mets’ big boys — Juan Soto and Pete Alonso to start the seventh.

Both got on, so Cash summoned Uceta, hoping the flashes he’d shown recently of his stellar 2024 form would continue. Uceta escaped the seventh, then handled the eighth, despite a flyball by Francisco Alvarez going uncaught, with the tense last out on Soto’s liner to right.

Uceta said his brief time with the Mets in 2023 wasn’t on his mind.

“This is a business, so I wasn’t thinking about that,” he said, via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “I just came in to try to get the outs, and that’s what I did.”

Mangum, who got to Triple A with the Mets, then was traded to the Marlins in December 2022 and to the Rays in December 2023, had a little different take. He recalled coming to Citi Field after his 2019 Brooklyn Cyclones minor-league team won the New York Penn League title, and he spent Thursday’s off-day visiting some of his favorite places around New York City.

Finally playing at Citi Field on Friday capped his return.

“What I expected was a loud, crazy environment, and we got that,” Mangum said. “And to stick it out and win the game was really cool.”

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