ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Rays open a six-game homestand Monday evening with Seattle at the Trop for three followed by a weekend series against Washington. The Rays are coming off a trip in which they went 5-4 while visiting Atlanta, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
Though the Rays (38-40) remain below .500, the lineup has provided more production the past couple of weeks. True, the bats seemingly could not get any colder. Still, things have been looking up after taking two of three from Minnesota and Pittsburgh. The trip began in Atlanta, where the Rays lost two of three.
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The Rays scored more than five runs four times in a five-game stretch during the trip after failing to score more than five runs in 10 straight.
“We feel much better about this road trip winning today then maybe another outcome,” manager Kevin Cash said after a 3-1 win over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon. “Happy with how the guys have played. We got beat up a little bit in Atlanta, but bounced back in Minnesota and Pittsburgh. Pleased with the performance.”
Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe and Ben Rortvedt have been clicking. Diaz takes a 16-game hit streak into Monday night’s game versus the Mariners. He is batting .341 in June and has four multi-hit games in his last five and nine such games during his streak.
Arozarena had a very productive trip in which he hit safely in eight of the nine games and his at-bats were noticeably much more competitive. He hit .345 (10-for-29) on the trip, drew five walks and was hit by a pitch four times.
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Lowe returned to the lineup in early May after missing the first six weeks of the season due to a right oblique strain. The injury resurfaced later in the month resulting in a 10-day IL stint. Finally appearing to be healthy, Lowe came to life in Minnesota and is 9-for-21 (.429) the last six games. He had a pair of homers in the Friday night’s 10-3 win at Pittsburgh.
Rortvedt is on a bit of a roll having gone 7-for-19 in his last five games, including a grand slam in Atlanta and a three-run blow in Pittsburgh. He has eight RBI during the stretch.
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