Nick Morabito delivered the first major league hit of his career at exactly the right moment, and Brett Baty had already done plenty of damage by then. Their pair of three-run doubles powered the Mets to a 10-4 win over the Rays on Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., sealing a series victory over the American League leaders.
The Mets jumped on Tampa Bay early and never fully let go. They opened with three runs in the first on a string of two-out production: Jared Young punched an RBI single, catcher Liam Hicks misplayed a good throw from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to allow another run, and Marcus Semien doubled down the left-field line to bring in Young. By the time the inning ended, New York had set the tone.
Baty widened the gap in the third. His two-out, three-run double bounced off the top of the left-field wall and brought home Bo Bichette, Semien and A.J.
Ewing, pushing the Mets to a 6-0 lead and ending Griffin Jax’s night. Jax, making his first start in a month because of elbow discomfort, gave up six runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings, with two walks and one strikeout.
Tampa Bay answered in the third when Jonathan Aranda singled home Taylor Walls for his 80th RBI, then made things tighter in the fourth. Cedric Mullins drove in Chandler Simpson, and Richie Palacios followed with his sixth homer, a two-run shot to right that cut the deficit to 6-4.
That’s when Morabito came through. Pinch-hitting, he ripped a double to left in the seventh to score two more and stretch the Mets’ lead back to six. Morabito finished 2-for-2 off the bench, and the hit was his first in the majors.
Juan Soto added to the cushion later with a solo homer to right in the eighth, his 23rd of the season, giving New York a 10-4 edge. Soto went 2-for-5 overall. Bichette also turned in a strong night, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, a walk and a stolen base, while Carson Benge chipped in two hits and two runs as the Mets piled up 14 hits.
Justin Hagenman, making his season debut, held Tampa Bay to one run on two hits over three innings. He struck out two and walked one. Chris Devenski followed and was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning before Dedniel Nunez (1-0) picked up the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
For the Rays, Chandler Simpson collected two hits and scored, while Junior Caminero saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end.
In Other News...
Yankees Have A New Rays Problem In The AL East Race
The Rays added another useful piece to a roster that has stayed in the middle of the AL East race by moving for catcher Liam Hicks from the Marlins in a trade that did not require either side to part with a top-10 prospect. Tampa Bay has liked the early return. Hicks has given the lineup a jolt since arriving, hitting .328/.425/.522 with 13 RBIs and three home runs in 23 games, the kind of production that can matter in a division where every steady bat gets magnified.
With Tampa Bay up 3.5 games, the timing of that upgrade matters just as much as the numbers attached to it. The Rays are trying to protect their lead and line up for an automatic bye to the ALDS, and Hicks has quickly become part of that push rather than a passive deadline add. For a team always hunting for edges, the real question now is whether this is simply a strong start or another trade that ends up looking even better as the race tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Enter September With One Pitching Question That Could Decide October
The Rays enter September in as strong a position as any club in the American League, and the math around the standings is getting simpler by the day. One more win over the Yankees would lock up the tiebreaker, while Bryan Baker has given Tampa Bay a legitimate late-inning anchor with an MLB-high 39 saves and a 1.50 ERA. The back end has become a real strength, and the rotation has gotten a boost from Freddy Peralta, whose recent run has added another layer of depth behind Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez.
The one place still worth watching is the left side of the bullpen, where the Rays have not yet found the same steady answers. Garrett Cleavinger has struggled, while Cam Booser has flashed enough to suggest there may be help there if the staff can keep sorting through the options. For a team with October in sight and a division race still being settled at the margins, that one pitching question may matter more than anything else between now and the postseason. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Deadline Gamble On Freddy Peralta Looks Bigger After Latest Start
Freddy Peralta has settled into the Rays rotation quickly enough that the deal for him is already looking like the kind of deadline move Tampa Bay likes to make. Acquired from the Mets on Aug. 2 for three prospects, Peralta has given the Rays six appearances and three quality starts, the sort of steady return that can matter most when a team is trying to line up its October staff.
The latest reminder came against his old club, when he looked every bit like the pitcher Tampa Bay thought it was getting. Peralta retired 17 of the final 18 hitters he faced in that outing, another sign that the Rays bid to bolster the back end of their rotation for the postseason may be paying off, even if the full verdict on the trade will not come until the pressure rises later. [Read more 🡒]