Liam Hicks made a great first impression with his new team, hitting a grand slam in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 9-7, 11-inning win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
Hicks can help the Rays sweep Colorado when the teams wrap up their three-game series in Denver on Wednesday. Tampa Bay will start right-hander Nick Martinez (10-3, 2.77 ERA) against Rockies righty Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4, 4.47) in the finale.
Hicks belted his 15th home run on Tuesday, showing he can contribute on offense, but the Rays hope he can solidify the team’s defense from the catching position. The 27-year-old joined Tampa Bay in a Monday trade that sent three minor-leaguers to the Miami Marlins.
“He’s going to catch, and he’ll catch a lot. He’ll work in with (Nick Fortes) quite a bit,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “(The Marlins) probably have some very similar messaging that we do on the pitching side, so hopefully that’s an easy transition for him, getting up to speed and learning our pitchers real quick.”
Hicks couldn’t guide Freddy Peralta to a successful debut Tuesday night — Peralta allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings after being acquired from the New York Mets on Sunday — but Martinez can pick up his new teammates with a good outing Wednesday.
Martinez is in the midst of the best season of his nine-year major league career. He has a career-low ERA and is one victory shy of matching his personal high. On the down side, he had a five-game winning streak snapped when he yielded six runs on seven hits in six innings during a 6-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
In 16 career outings (six starts) against the Rockies, Martinez is 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA. He is 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in nine games (three starts) in Denver.
The Rockies held onto Sugano at the trade deadline, as he has turned into the staff ace in his first year with the team. Sugano’s 11 victories are the most by a Colorado pitcher since German Marquez won 12 in 2021.
It will be his second career start against Tampa Bay. Sugano beat the Rays despite allowing seven runs in five innings in Baltimore’s 22-8 win on June 27, 2025.
Sugano can hope his Rockies batters could be as productive in the last of a six-game homestand. Colorado has scored 16 runs in the first two games of the series, including four home runs, but has lost each time. Two of the blasts came from Mickey Moniak, who signed a two-year, $16.25 million contract extension before the Tuesday game.
Moniak, who has 19 home runs this season, wasn’t sure he would stay with the Rockies past the deadline. Colorado is in last place in the National League West and possesses an outfield surplus, but he wasn’t moved.
Moniak was selected No. 1 overall by the Phillies in the 2016 draft, and he played 2 1/2 seasons in Philadelphia and 2 1/2 with the Los Angeles Angels before signing as a free agent with Colorado in March 2025.
“As a human being, I tend to think of myself as a pretty loyal guy, and this organization has truly given a resurgence to my career,” Moniak said. “They’ve always shown interest in me, ever since I was in high school.
“Something like that means a lot to me. Being here for last year, I know we are taking strides this year to move forward.”
–Field Level Media
