The Rays finished off their sweep of the Diamondbacks on Sunday with a 5-1 win, and the biggest reason they’re back on top of the AL East is simple: they keep finding ways to pile on.
After a rough June that had the Rays looking like they might be sliding into another spiral, they’ve answered with five straight wins. At 81 games played and eight sweeps later, they now hold sole possession of first place in the division for the first time since June 6.
Junior Caminero kept driving the offense. He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, then unloaded in the fifth with a 463-foot blast to left-center and the party deck. It was his seventh home run in six games.
The power showed up elsewhere too. Cedric Mullins homered to right-center in the second for his eighth of the season, and that solo shot pushed the Rays ahead 2-0. Later in the inning, Walls scored on a Yandy Diaz sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Ben Williamson added another layer in the sixth, connecting for his second homer of the year to stretch the lead to 5-0.
On the mound, Rasmussen was sharp again. He worked six shutout innings, struck out five, walked one, and gave up just three hits to earn his seventh win. His ERA now sits at 2.45.
Kimbrel, Cleavinger, and Martin handled the rest, though Cleavinger allowed the day’s only run when Ketel Marte went deep on a solo homer. Even so, the 5-1 score held up and the Rays completed the sweep.
The timing worked out well for Tampa Bay, too. The Red Sox swept the Yankees in four games, which let the Rays move back ahead of the Bronx Bombers in the East.
The Rays are off Monday before heading to Kansas City to take on the Royals. Jax is scheduled to start Tuesday as they try to keep the momentum going.
In Other News...
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The interesting part is what those changes mean once the rest of the bullpen starts to come back into the picture. Kimbrel is being asked to adapt on the fly, and the Rays still have to decide whether this version of him can settle into a permanent high-leverage role or whether the reshaped mix is only the first step in a bigger decision about how he fits in Tampa Bay's relief picture. [Read more 🡒]
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Rays Bullpen Finally Earned The Kind Of Respect Fans Wanted
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Bryan Baker is a big reason why. Ranked No. 6 among MLB relievers in the latest rundown, he has settled into the closer role in Tampa Bay and has handled it well enough to be mentioned with the games most trusted late-inning arms. He is tied for second in saves and is tracking toward his first season with more than 30, a marker that would give the Rays another example of how quickly this bullpen has gone from useful to genuinely respected. [Read more 🡒]