Fastball

Tampa Bay Rays Knock Around Justin Verlander, Make MLB History in Process

The Tampa Bay Rays battered Justin Verlander in his first Citi Field start and made some baseball history in the process.

Brady Farkas

Tampa Bay Rays Knock Around Justin Verlander, Make MLB History in Process
Tampa Bay Rays Knock Around Justin Verlander, Make MLB History in Process /
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In what was supposed to be a glorious first start at Citi Field in front of the home faithful, New York Mets ace Justin Verlander was knocked around by the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

The Rays knocked Verlander out after five innings as he allowed six runs on eight hits with two walks and only three strikeouts.

He also allowed two home runs and the Rays made some longball history in the game as well.

Per ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter:

The Rays now have 10 different players with at least 5 HR this season. They are the only team in MLB history to have 10 different players with 5 HR before playing 50 games of a season, they reached that mark in just 43 games.

The Rays made history -- and with seven games to spare. In the five home run club for Tampa at this point: Randy Arozarena (10), Yandy Diaz (10), Josh Lowe (9), Luke Raley (8), Wander Franco (7), Brandon Lowe (7), Taylor Walls (7), Christian Bethancourt (6), Isaac Paredes (6), Harold Ramirez (6) and Jose Siri (5).

At the time of this posting, the Rays lead the Mets, 7-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Paredes has two homers to this point and Siri has one.

For the Rays on the mound, Yonny Chirinos served as the "bulk" guy after opener Jalen Beeks. He went 4.2 innings and surrendered three earned runs.

If the Rays win this game, they'll move to an MLB-best 32-11.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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