The Rays put together one of those nights where just about everything clicked. The lineup kept producing, the gloves kept flashing, and the pitching was strong enough to survive the one messy stretch that threatened to tilt the game. By the end, Tampa Bay had a 6-2 win over the Mets and its 85th victory of the season.
It did not start smoothly. Freddy Peralta, working against his former team, opened with a shaky first inning and immediately ran into trouble when Francisco Lindor led off with a home run.
Two singles followed soon after, and it briefly looked like the Rays might be in for a long night. Peralta limited the damage to that one run, though, and settled in from there.
Tampa Bay answered right away. In the bottom of the first, Yandy doubled and raced home on Junior Caminero’s single to tie the game. A double play kept the Rays from doing more in the inning, but the momentum had already started to shift.
The Rays moved in front in the third. Victor Mesa Jr., back from an IL stint, singled and advanced to second on a Walls bunt before scoring on Ryan Vilade’s single. That made it 2-1, and Tampa Bay kept adding from there.
Nick Fortes pushed the lead to 3-1 in the sixth with a double that brought in Simpson from first base. Fortes then moved to third, and when the Mets brought the infield in tight on Taylor Walls, Walls lifted a ball deep enough to score Fortes on the sacrifice.
That set the stage for Yandy. After earlier sending a deep fly to center that traveled 379 feet and was caught, he came back in the sixth and hit nearly the same ball, only 20 feet farther, for a solo home run.
Ryan Vilade followed with a triple, which ended Sean Manaea’s night. Manaea had pitched fairly well, but likely should have been removed before giving Yandy another chance.
By the end of six, Tampa Bay was up 5-1.
Peralta was done after six and had been excellent overall. He allowed three hits, issued no walks, struck out seven, and generated 14 whiffs.
The seventh inning got ugly for Garrett Cleavinger. He loaded the bases with one out, forcing Kevin Cash to turn to Tyler Wells.
Wells got the second out on a pop up to the catcher, but then walked in the Mets’ second run. Another infield pop up finally ended the inning.
As Darby Robinson put it: “Every time Cash wants to use Clev he should just use the guy he’s gonna call to to clean up Clev’s mess instead.”
Tampa Bay added an insurance run in the eighth. Mesa Jr. singled, Walls doubled him to third, and Vilade hit a comebacker that appeared to glance off reliever Yan. By the time Yan recovered and threw to the catcher, Mesa Jr. had crossed the plate for the Rays’ sixth run.
Wells and Kevin Kelly handled the final two innings without allowing a run, and the Rays closed it out cleanly.
The offense showed plenty of variety, from soft singles to the loud stuff over the fence. The defense stood out too. Junior Caminero made two strong plays at third, Chandler Simpson tracked down a tough fly ball in the corner, and several other plays were handled with the kind of ease that makes hard work look simple.
In Other News...
Rays Face A Costly Drew Rasmussen Decision They Cant Ignore
Drew Rasmussen has been one of the bright spots in the Rays rotation this season, earning an All-Star nod while posting a 2.95 ERA. For a team that has long built around value and roster flexibility, he also represents something more complicated: a frontline starter whose future financial picture is starting to loom larger than his on-field performance.
The cloud over the situation is his 2027 club option, which could climb as high as $20 million, a figure that sits well above the Rays usual comfort zone. Tampa Bay has not locked itself into a course of action yet, and for now the possibility remains that the club could eventually have to choose between keeping an important arm in place or exploring a trade before the bill comes due. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Roster Expansion Leaves One Late-Season Question Wide Open
The Rays roster expanded with Septembers extra roster spots, and that brought Victor Mesa Jr. back into the fold after his recovery from a left hamstring strain. The outfielder was reinstated from the 10-day injured list, while right-hander Alex Cook was recalled from Triple-A Durham, giving Tampa Bay a little more flexibility as the schedule tightens up.
Mesa is expected to slip back into his right field platoon role, which is exactly the kind of late-season detail Tampa Bay tends to manage carefully. Cook has already made two MLB appearances this season, and his return adds another arm to the mix, but the bigger question now is how the Rays decide to deploy these pieces as the final stretch settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Freddy Peralta Opens Up About His Mets Struggles And Rays Reset
Freddy Peraltas path to Tampa Bay has already been a winding one, and the right-hander said his brief stop with the Mets gave him a taste of the pressure that comes with pitching in New York. Even while the results on the mound didnt match the setting, Peralta said he enjoyed the challenge of working under that spotlight before the deadline sent him on to the Rays.
Now he gets a reset with a first-place club and a chance to settle in with a different kind of expectation, one built around a contender rather than a turnaround. For Tampa Bay, the appeal is obvious: a pitcher with experience, perspective and a clean slate at a time when the standings leave little room for wasted innings. [Read more 🡒]