Bingo! Danny Jansen Breaks Out of Slump, Leads Rays Past Braves 6-3

TAMPA, Fla. — Prior to Friday night's game, Danny Jansen's batting average was so low that it didn't even qualify to be a Bingo number. You've got to be at least ''O-61'' for that, and 1-for-26 doesn't get you there.

The Tampa Bay catcher, one of the Rays' bigger offseason signings, was hitting just .038 — that's N-38 for you Bingo players — through the Rays' first 12 games. But he broke out in a big way against Bryce Elder and the Atlanta Braves. He hit a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning, had an RBI single in the sixth and an RBI double in the eighth, leading Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win in the first game of the weekend series.

Not only were those his first extra base hits of the season, those were also his first RBIs. And his 3-for-4 night raised his batting average to .133 — nearly a 100-point improvement.

"I've started slow before; I've been there before. I have a constant belief in myself,'' the 29-year-old Jansen said. ''I was putting it forward. It wasn't like I was punching out, I was putting it forward and building off that — slowly. It's not the ideal start, but this game is mental, man.

"I know that I've broken out of it before. I knew it was going to happen. It's more about chasing good at-bats than chasing hits.''

It was a big win for the 6-7 Rays, who were embarrassed 11-1 a day earlier by the Los Angeles Angels. They needed starter Taj Bradley to have a big night, and he delivered. He had a shaky 32-pitch first inning and allowed two walks and a run, but he was lights out from there. He pitched five scoreless innings from there, allowing just five hits with seven strikeouts.

"Taj is a stud, man,'' Jansen said. "It was a longer first inning, but he has the ability to drive through the strike zone, he's special.''

Christopher Morel also had a big night for the Rays. He hit his first homer of the year — a solo shot in the sixth — and went 3-for-4 as well. He's hitting .303 now on the year, but the homer was a big deal. It was his first dinger since Aug. 23, 2024, more than 125 at-bats ago.

Morel struck out in the second inning, but then singled ahead of Jansen's homer in the fourth and hit his own long ball in the sixth. He said a comment from his manager, Kevin Cash, helped a lot after the strikeout, and helped him stay locked in at the plate.

"It feels great, especially in a key moment in the game,'' Morel said. "Yesterday wasn't a very good day and today at the beginning wasn't very good either, but Cashy, he came to me and just told me to be myself, to be the same Morel that I've always been. Get some pitches to hit and swing hard. You guys saw the results.

"He told me he didn't want me to think to much (after the strikeout). I just tried to be myself. Cashy gave me the confidence there.''

The Braves fell to 3-10 and have lost eight straight road games to start the season, tying a club record set in 1980. Elder (0-1) took the loss. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for the Rays, and got his third save of the season.

The two teams meet again on Saturday. Game time is 4:10 p.m. ET at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

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