Taylor Walls drove in two runs in Tampa Bay’s four-run first inning as the Rays won a second series over a top club in a week, toppling the visiting Detroit Tigers 8-3 on Saturday afternoon.
The shortstop’s two-run single with two outs helped the Rays win for the second consecutive game against the Tigers, who entered the day 19 games over .500 with a .623 winning percentage.
Tampa Bay, which tops baseball with a 22-8 mark dating back to May 20, swept three games from the then-best New York Mets last weekend in Queens.
Danny Jansen, Junior Caminero and Christopher Morel each hit solo homers, while Yandy Diaz extended his hitting streak to 12 games in a 2-for-4 outing with a double and a run.
In winning his second consecutive impressive start, Ryan Pepiot (5-6) yielded only one run on three hits in five innings. He fanned seven, walked two and hit two batters.
Detroit’s Jake Rogers (groundout), Jahmai Jones (double) and Dillon Dingler (sacrifice fly) drove in runs.
Opener Brant Hurter (2-3) surrendered four unearned runs in two-thirds of the first inning before yielding to Sawyer Gipson-Long for 6 1/3 innings (four runs, six hits).
The Rays sent nine men to the plate and scored four times in the first due to a passed ball on a strikeout of Brandon Lowe, who raced safely to first with one out rather than two.
Hurter’s wildness became his undoing after Jonathan Aranda’s double, issuing two walks (a run-producing one by Josh Lowe), hitting Jose Caballero with a pitch for a 2-0 lead and allowing Walls’ single.
Brandon Lowe moved his hitting streak to 10 games with a RBI single to plate Diaz in the second, but Detroit answered with Rogers’ groundout to make it 5-1.
The home offense kept at it in the fourth as Jansen and Caminero belted solo homers off Gipson-Long for a 7-1 lead.
In the seventh, Morel smashed a Statcast-projected 434-foot homer to left for a seven-run advantage.
Pinch hitters Jones and Dingler had RBIs in the eighth for the final margin.
–Field Level Media
