After a heavy dose of home games through the first three months of the season, the Rays will be on the road for large stretches of the summer months, and that first trip got started on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Chandler Simpson was recalled after a short stint back in AAA, and got the start in center field. Yandy Diaz got his weekly start at first base.
Danny Jansen got it started with a two-run homer in the top of the second. Jansen started the season slow, but since May 1 he has a 116 wRC+, which is 10th among all catchers.
Jonathan Aranda and Diaz picked up three hits each. Aranda is on track for his first All-Star nod if the baseball gods are just, and Diaz is the hottest hitter in the game. Seriously, since the start of June, Diaz has a 226 wRC+. Better than Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto. He’s hitting .423 with a .483 on-base percentage in that time.
Taj Bradley took a perfect game into the sixth inning, and it could’ve went longer if not for a badly missed strike three call by home plate umpire Sean Barber. He looked in command of all four pitches, and got a big swing and a miss from John Rave on his splitter in the bottom of the third.
These kinds of win can feel mundane in the middle of June. The Rays grabbed the lead early on the road and never let it go. The bullpen took over for Taj in the seventh and Kevin Kelly gave up the only run of the night. They played clean defense and had timely hitting, including another RBI from Jansen on a sac fly in the fourth, and a two-out single from Aranda in the fifth that led to another run.
Wins like this won’t end up on any championship DVDs or TikTok edits, but they are oh so important in a pennant race. The Rays now have the fifth-best run differential in all of baseball, and find themselves one games behind the Yankees in the AL East.
Drew Rasmussen will toe the mound in game two, opposed by former Ray Michael Wacha as the good guys look to start their road trip with a series victory.
