Rays' Bats Explode in 11-5 Rout of Blue Jays, Complete Doubleheader Sweep
TORONTO — There have been long stretches of this 2022 season where Tampa Bay pitchers haven't gotten much support from their offense. But there was no issue on Saturday, none at all.
The Rays won the nightcap of their doubleheader with the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night, cruising to an easy 11-5 win. After winning the day game 6-2, Rays bats accounted for 17 runs and 24 hits in about 10 hours worth of work
"Two wins in one day, it's hard to hate that,'' said Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who was making his first start since June 5 after dealing with a hamstring injury. "Our offense coming out and playing the way they did in both ends of the doubleheader today was awesome to see. We'll take that any time.''
Drew Rasmussen says he felt in his return to the team as he talks about his start Saturday night in Game 2 of the @RaysBaseball doubleheader against the Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/teMXLfZDZL
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) July 3, 2022
Five Rays had a multi-hit game, doing most of the damage early. They scored 10 runs in just five innings against Toronto starter Thomas Hatch, who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to start the game. The Rays ripped into him big-time, getting 12 hits, including three home runs.
Catcher Francisco Mejia belted a two-run homer in the second inning and then dded a solo shot in the fifth. It was his fourth and fifth homers of the year and his first multi-home game since Sept. 6, 2018 at Cincinnati when he was playing for the San Diego Padres. He had driven in just one run in his last 30 games, so this outburst was a blessing.
Second baseman Isaac Paredes continued his hot streak, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs. He hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, his 13th of the season and eighth in the Rays' last 11 games.
Third baseman Yandy Diaz led off the game with a double, and singled later. He has now hit safely in seven straight games, going 12-for-26 (.461) during that stretch. Harold Ramirez went 3-for-4 to raise his team-leading batting average to .321 and Randy Arozarena went 2-for-5.
Rasmussen missed three starts with a left hamstring strain, and there's been no doubt that he's been missed since his last appearance on June 10. The Rays were just 6-13 without him, and they used bullpen days to replace all three of his starts, diminishing their effectiveness as a group, especially with relief stars Andrew Kittredge and J.P. Feyereisen out with injuries during that time.
Rasmussen said the plan for his return was to pitch four innings, but Rays manager Kevin Cash sent him back out for the fifth anyway because he had been efficient in keeping his pitch count down, throwing only 43 pitches in four innings.
The Rays had a 10-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, so Cash really wanted him to get through five to get the win. But he walked Raimel Tapia to open the inning and gave up a double to Santiago Espinal. And when he walked Cavan Biggio with two outs and was up to 25 pitches in the inning, Cash had to take him out.
"They gave me every opportunity to get a win today, but it's on me,'' said Rasmussen, who gave up just one earned run and five hits on the day. "That stuff happens, unfortunately, I tried to make too good of a pitch to Biggio and I missed my spot. It's on me, they gave me my chance.
"The game plan going in was for me to go four, but was pretty efficient going into the fifth, so they let me go back out. Maybe we won't even have a game plan going into next game, so we'll see.''
Cash was thrilled to see his scuffling offense have a big day.
"That was an exciting day. We wanted to find a way to bounce back and we did,'' Cash said. "It all came together for us during the course of a long day. It's tough to win both ends of a doubleheader, so I'm really proud of the guys.''
The two teams wrap up this five-game, four day series on Sunday afternoon, with rookie Shane Baz (0-1, 3.38) taking the mound for the Rays. Toronto will counter with Ross Stripling (4-2, 3.18).
.@RaysBaseball manager Kevin Cash talks about the offensive outburst after the team's doubleheader sweep of the Blue Jays on Saturday night. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/z6RCmIhroA
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) July 3, 2022
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.