My Two Cents: Timely Hitting? Rays Are Doing It, And Numbers Don't Lie

The negative side of the Tampa Bay Rays fan base would be shocked to learn that the Rays lead the American League in hitting with runners in scoring position. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. And that's why they lead baseball in late comeback wins, much like they did Wednesday and Thursday in Arizona.

Tampa Bay Rays Kameron Misner (right) and Chandler Simpson celebrate after scoring against the Arizona Diamondbacks. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — It can get very frustrating watching the Tampa Bay Rays at the plate sometimes. Last week was a good example, when they were shut out three times, and scored just one run Tuesday night when they started their six-game road trip to Arizona and San Diego.

But there's plenty of good to go with the bad, too. They scored six runs in the final two innings to come back to beat the New York Yankees last Saturday, and they rallied twice the past two nights, tying both games on Wednesday and Thursday nights against the Diamondbacks, and then winning in extra innings.

How'd they do it? With clutch hitting. And believe it or not, they do it a lot more often than you'd think.

Do you know who leads the American League in hitting with runners in scoring position? That would be Tampa Bay Rays.

And that's a fact.

The Rays are hitting .287, best in the league. And you know what? It's not even close. The Yankees and Athletics are next at .267. No one else is over .245.

"I'm glad you brought that up,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said during his pregame press conference Friday in the Rays' dugout. "We have hit the ball well, swung the bats well, with runners in scoring position. We've had a couple games where it hasn't happened, but when you look at the broad picture through 25-26 games to date, we've gotten a lot of big hits with guys on base and we'd like to see that continue.''

The two wins in Arizona were huge, because the Rays looked cooked. But Wednesday night, rookie Chandler Simpson singled in Christopher Morel to tie the game at 4-4 in the eighth inning, and then Kameron Misner and Yandy Diaz both doubled in runs in the 11th inning for the win.

Same thing Thursday. The Rays tied the game in the ninth on a Diaz single and then won in the 10th with three runs. Junior Caminero had an RBI double, and Morel hit a two-run homer.

Big hits. Late hits. Clutch hits.

Over and over.

"It's pretty gratifying because it's easy to get frustrated in this game and I think we left home feeling frustrated,'' Cash said. "To find a way to win two games like we did, and coming back late against a very good Diamondbacks team that's playing really well, I think that speaks highly of our group. Even when things are not coming easy, we can still do some things well to win games.''

Here's the list of what American League teams are doing with runners in scoring position before Friday's games:

1. Tampa Bay Rays .287
2. New York Yankees .267
3. The Athletics .267
4. Houston Astros .245
5. Los Angeles Angels .244
6. Toronto Blue Jays .242
7. Minnesota Twins .241
8. Detroit Tigers .240
9. Boston Red Sox .239
10. Kansas City Royals .230
11. Texas Rangers .223
12. Cleveland Guardians .217
13. Baltimore Orioles .217
14. Seattle Mariners .193
15. Chicago White Sox .162

It's helped that a few bats are really heating up lately. Diaz has had three hits in each of the past two games, the first time he's done that since August 2023. He's never done it three games in a row, which was a surprise to see in the notes for the former AL batting champion.

"Hopefully that won't be in the notes tomorrow,'' Cash said pregame, saying he was surprised by that stat, too, ''considering how good of a hitter he is."

Morel is finally taking off, too. He's homered in back-to-back games, a first since his first two games with the Rays last July when he came over in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. He's a good barometer between wins and losses for the Rays. He's hitting .406 with seven extra base hits in their wins, and just .156 when they lose.

The Rays have won four games this year despite trailing in the seventh inning or later. That's tied for the most in baseball along with the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. No one in the AL has more than two.

The Rays have won twice while trailing heading into the ninth, and only the Seattle Mariners have also done that.

I'm not saying this is a great hitting team, because I've seen enough duds this year, too. But Cash has talked often about liking the makeup of this team offensively, and he's seen it since the spring. They don't quit.

And when you don't, good things can happen.

Now we just need to see it more often than not. Still, No. 1 is pretty good. And that's not just an opinion. Those stats? Those are facts.