Jonny DeLuca added to his torrid start with a homer and four RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., for their season-high fourth straight win.
A starter in every game during a three-game weekend sweep of the New York Mets, DeLuca went 2-for-4 as the Rays cruised to 4-0 on their nine-game homestand.
The outfielder has 10 RBIs in his four appearances for the Rays, who reached .500 through 36 games.
Harold Ramirez went 4-for-4 with a double, three runs, an RBI and a stolen base. In his season debut, Josh Lowe batted third and was 2-for-5 with a double.
Rays starter Tyler Alexander tossed four-plus innings and allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while fanning a season-high seven.
Erasmo Ramirez (2-0) fired three scoreless innings to win for the second time in two days. He allowed no hits and one walk, striking out one.
Chicago’s Tommy Pham hit a two-run home run, but the club managed just four hits, committed two errors and had its two-game winning streak snapped.
In his first outing for the White Sox this season, right-hander Mike Clevinger (0-1) lasted two-plus innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits. He walked four without a strikeout.
The Rays sent eight batters to the plate in the second inning and produced three runs. After loading the bases with no outs, DeLuca hit a two-run single. Yandy Diaz then legged out a fielder’s choice to score Ben Rortvedt for a three-run lead.
Chicago cut into its deficit the next half-inning as Pham swatted a two-run homer to right field. The 374-foot shot was his second this season.
In the third, Ramirez’s single scored Amed Rosario, who opened the frame with a stand-up triple, to give the Rays a 4-2 lead. White Sox reliever Jared Shuster pitched out of trouble to keep it a two-run deficit.
After Ramirez’s leadoff double in the fifth, Rortvedt built the lead back to three when he lined an RBI single to left off Shuster.
DeLuca then hammered a changeup for a two-run homer to left, his first of the year, for a 7-2 advantage.
A throwing error by pitcher Tim Hill on Jose Caballero’s infield single allowed Ramirez to race home with the final run in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
The Minnesota Twins acquired infielder Mickey Gasper from the Red Sox on Tuesday, sending left-hander Jovani Moran to Boston. Gasper, 29, made his major league debut in 2024 with the…
The three teams in the two biggest markets will pay more than 84 percent of the $311.31 million in luxury taxes assessed by Major League Baseball. Front Office Sports reported…
Veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who began his major league career in Cleveland in 2010 and returned for a second stint in 2019, signed a one-year contract with the Guardians…
Report: 3 MLB teams paying bulk of record $311M in luxury taxes
Third time the charm? 1B Carlos Santana back with Guardians
Astros sign 1B Christian Walker to 3-year deal
LHP Patrick Sandoval agrees to 2-year deal with Red Sox