Rays Win Rare Slugfest, Take Down Diamondbacks 7-6 For First Road Victory

Simply because the Tampa Bay Rays have great pitching and often struggle to score runs, it's a rare day when they're involved in a slugfest. But that's exactly what happened Wednesday night, when they got big hits from Kameron Misner and Yandy Diaz in the 11th inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6.

How rare was it? Very.

It was just the second game all year in 24 tries where the Rays and their opponent both scored six runs or more in the same game. The first was last Saturday in Tampa, when the Rays scored four runs in the ninth inning and two more in the 10th to beat the New York Yankees 10-8.

This stuff just doesn't happen very often for the Rays. There were only 12 such occurrences last year during the 162-game 2024 season, and six of those were extra-inning affairs. There were none in their last 33 games. None at all.

"We needed a win tonight and I'm happy that we got it,'' Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said in his postgame press conference. "And there were a lot of people that really contributed to that.”

The win, the first on the road for the Rays this season after opening with four straight losses, was hard to come by. The game went back and forth all night, with six lead changes before it was over. Corbin Carroll had two home runs for Arizona, but the Rays countered with 13 hits and were 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

There were a lot of good signs for the Rays' offense. Christopher Morel hit a solo home run in the second inning, just his second homer of the year. And Yandy Diaz, who has been struggling to get results at the plate all season, had three hits. He had a big hit in the seventh inning — a two-run single to give the Rays a 4-3 lead — and another double in the 11th that plated the Rays' seventh and deciding run.

Taj Bradley started for the Rays and kept them in the game, allowing three runs in six innings. The Rays needed five relievers to finish out the game, and they allowed just three hits. Edwin Uceta did a great job of working out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth inning. Garrett Cleavenger pitched a perfect ninth and got the first out in the 10th before Pete Fairbanks came in to get the final two outs in the inning.

Rookie Eric Orze pitched the 11th inning and ended the game with a snappy 4-6-3 double play from Brandon Lowe to Taylor Walls and then to Jonathan Aranda at first base. It was his first career save, and he has yet to allow an earned run in five appearances with Tampa Bay.

“He's made really good impressions since the start of spring training, and maybe none bigger than today,” Cash said during his postgame press conference. “We really like what he's done for us, and he helped us out big time.”

The Rays are now 10-14 on the season, and 7-3 against National League foes. They close out the series in Phoenix on Thursday night, with Drew Rasmussen taking on Corbin Burnes. Then they're off to San Diego for a weekend series with the Padres at Petco Park.