Richie Palacios delivered the big swing when Tampa Bay needed it most, Victor Mesa Jr. kept the Rays in the fight with a solo shot, and a patched-together bullpen finished the job in a 3-2 win over the Mariners on Saturday night in Seattle.
The Rays had to improvise before the first pitch even arrived. Griffin Jax, originally lined up to start, was scratched hours before the game because of discomfort in his right elbow. Tampa Bay responded by leaning on seven pitchers, with Casey Legumina taking the start and Steven Matz eventually earning the win after throwing two innings.
That shuffle didn’t stop the AL East leaders from continuing their roll. Tampa Bay improved to 70-46, became the first AL club to hit 70 victories, and has now won six of its last seven. Seattle, meanwhile, has lost four of five and sits 3 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card spot.
Mesa’s homer got the Rays level in the fourth, a 412-foot drive to right field that erased Seattle’s early edge. Then came the sixth, where Palacios came through with a two-out, two-run single off Michael Rucker to push Tampa Bay ahead 3-1.
Seattle did get its own power display from Josh Naylor, who went deep twice for the first time since June 12. He opened the scoring with a solo homer off Cam Booser in the second and added another in the seventh off Garrett Cleavinger.
George Kirby gave the Mariners a solid outing, allowing one run on four hits, but his night ended after five innings and 99 pitches.
Bryan Baker handled the ninth and locked down his AL-leading 34th save.
The game also featured some frustration for Seattle. Manager Dan Wilson was ejected for the second time in the last four games.
Julio Rodríguez was denied a challenge after a strike three call by home plate umpire Emil Jimenez because Rodríguez took too long, and the crowd kept voicing its displeasure. The next inning, Jonathan Aranda challenged and won, which only added to the noise.
Up next, Rays left-hander Ian Seymour (8-3, 4.27 ERA) was scheduled to face Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (6-6, 3.33) on Sunday.
In Other News...
Rays Just Turned A Great Season Into A Real Title Push
The Rays spent the trade deadline acting like a club that believed its best days were still ahead, not behind it. Tampa Bay brought in Liam Hicks, Freddy Peralta and Tyler Wells to deepen the roster and shore up a team that was already sitting atop the American League, a sign that the front office saw a real chance to turn a strong season into something more dangerous in October.
The numbers back up the ambition, too. ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle has the Rays at 99.9% playoff odds and a 13.0% World Series win probability, which is the kind of jump that changes how the rest of the league views a contender. Some metrics still point to regression, but for now Tampa Bay has the look of a team that did more than just protect its place in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Bullpen Could Get Relief At Exactly The Right Time
The Rays have spent much of the summer piecing together their pitching staff with several arms on the injured list, including Cole Sulser, Shane McClanahan and Griffin Jax. In that kind of climate, any sign of help on the way matters, especially for a bullpen that has had to absorb plenty of strain while waiting for reinforcements to heal up and make progress.
Manuel Rodriguez has been moving through a rehab assignment and is trending toward a return after elbow surgery, which gives Tampa Bay a potential late-season lift at a time it could use one. His recent minor league work has looked encouraging, and the Rays will be watching closely to see whether he can bring the kind of stability that makes the rest of the bullpen picture a little easier to manage. [Read more 🡒]
Chandler Simpson Is Becoming A Huge Part Of Tampa Bays Surge
Chandler Simpson kept giving the Rays exactly the kind of spark that has helped fuel their recent surge, and on a day when Tampa Bay completed a sweep of Seattle, the rookie found himself in a more prominent spot in the order. Kevin Cash slid Simpson into the No. 3 hole and the move paid off right away, with Simpson going 4-for-5 and piling up three singles, a double and a run scored while the Rays kept putting pressure on the Mariners.
His speed remains the constant that changes innings for Tampa Bay, and it showed again as Simpson swiped his 31st base of the season and created stress on the basepaths throughout the game. Cash also shuffled the lineup to sandwich left-handed hitters between right-handed bats against Emerson Hancock, a wrinkle that fit the moment and left Simpson in the middle of it, another sign that the Rays are finding more ways to lean on his all-around impact. [Read more 🡒]