The only thing that was missing tonight was the supposed future owner of the Rays, Patrick Zalupski, who met Junior Caminero on second base and presented him a large blank check after his threw two-run double in the seventh inning. It would have been justified and I think even the Mariners would have understood the interruption.
The two-run double that Caminero tore over the line was his third hit of the night and was good for his 99th and 100th runs that came in the year. In the first inning he collected his first hit of the night and his 97th RBI, who rode in Yandy Diaz. In the sixth he hit a towering, game type explosion to the left field for his 98th RBI and 40th Home Run.
He only became the second player in the franchisse history who reached the 40 Homer Mark and joined Carlos Pena. In the night he finished 3-4 with four RBIs and scored a point. Each hit came to a crucial place and gave the rays the lead or fixed the game. In a game that had to win the rays, Caminero appeared in a big, big way.
While I could talk about Caminero all day, the pitching matchup on Tuesday evening was a fantastic, with Drew Rasmussen opposite Bryan Woo.
Although he was tagged for a few runs in the first inning, Woo settled nicely before he surrenders the sixth inning game-Tying Solo shot to junior that would end his night. In total, he went 5+ innings and allowed three points to four hits. He walked and hit three.
Rasmussen was again solid and went five innings. He also allowed three runs to four hits. He didn’t walk and hit a few. All damage was in the fourth inning in which he surrendered a trio of solo explosions to Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco. At the time, Polanco’s Thuis Run gave the Ms a 3-2 lead.
The rays and Kevin Cash were able to overcome rocky trips from Edwin Uceta and Griffin Jax. Both relievers could not complete the frame they started. Uceta ran three and Jax allowed two free passes.
Jax struggled again as he was confronted with the Mariners and instead of earning the savings runs in the ninth, he loaded the bases and made way for Garrett Clavinger who was nails.
The Southpaw earned his second Save of the Year and wobbled out of the jam, so that only one point was allowed.
This was a game that they had to have (spoiler alert: just about every game is now), and they found a way. The victory, their fifth in a row, moved them to only 3.5 games at the back of the last Wildcard spot. They have the chance to sweep tomorrow and will then focus their attention on another crucial series against the Guardians.
#winning #Rays #Mariners