Tampa Bay Rays Make Amazingly Random Baseball History on Saturday
![Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) watches his two run home run against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on July 20. Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) watches his two run home run against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on July 20.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5747,h_3232,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/fastball/01j3anr608ft6g14kbf1.jpg)
The Tampa Bay Rays blew out the New York Yankees 9-1 on Saturday afternoon to even the weekend series at one game each.
With the win, the Rays are now 49-49 on the season while the loss drops the Yankees to 59-41. More importantly for New York, they are now 2.0 games back of the Orioles in the American League East.
The win by the Rays was a complete one, as they got a major power display and a great pitching performance on the mound from Taj Bradley.
In fact, the Rays made an incredibly random collection of baseball history, doing things that haven't been done since 1958.
Per @OptaSTATS:
.@RaysBaseball became the 2nd MLB team since 1901 to do all of these in a single game (including playoffs):
Score 9+ Runs
Hit 4+ HR
Hold Opp. To 0/1 Runs
Record 5+ Walks
Steal 2+ Bases
Opp. GIDP 3+ Times
The Dodgers also did this against the Braves on August 23, 1958.
.@RaysBaseball became the 2nd MLB team since 1901 to do all of these in a single game (including playoffs):
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 20, 2024
Score 9+ Runs
Hit 4+ HR
Hold Opp. To 0/1 Runs
Record 5+ Walks
Steal 2+ Bases
Opp. GIDP 3+ Times
The Dodgers also did this against the Braves on August 23, 1958. pic.twitter.com/BvjP5jZqPG
The Rays got home runs from Alex Jackson (2), Isaac Paredes (16), and Randy Arozarena (2-14). As for Bradley, he went 7.0 innings, giving up no runs on just one hit. He walked two and struck out five to continue his great run. He's now 5-4 on the season with a 2.63 ERA.
The two teams will play each other again on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:35 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium. Young Rays' righty Shane Baz will pitch against veteran Marcus Stroman.
Baz is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA while Stroman is 7-4 with a 3.51.
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