Aranda's 3-run dinger off foul pole gets Rays back to home cooking

ST. PETERSBURG -- The pitch from Miles Mikolas would have been a ball, a changeup well outside the strike zone and quite a reach from where Jonathan Aranda stood in the left-handed batter’s box. It didn’t exactly come screaming off Aranda’s bat when he sliced it down the left-field line, either, registering as a hard-hit ball -- but just barely -- with an exit velocity of 95.2 mph.

Aranda wasn’t initially sure if it cleared the wall, thinking it looked like the ball was still rising as it carried toward 162 Landing in the left-field corner at Tropicana Field. He looked hesitant as he neared second base. Then he saw the ballpark’s lights start flashing.

Aranda’s opposite-field shot bounced off the foul pole for a go-ahead three-run homer in the third inning, and the Rays didn’t look back as they picked up a 5-2 win over the Nationals on Friday night.

“Big swing. We haven't had one of those in a while,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Really impressive piece of hitting by him.”

According to Statcast, Aranda’s 12th home run of the season had the lowest exit velocity and shortest projected distance (334 feet) on any long ball in his career. It would have only been a homer at three Major League ballparks, in fact: New York’s Yankee Stadium, Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and The Trop.

Coming off a 1-5 trip to Southern California, the three-run shot was a perfect “welcome home” gift for Tampa Bay as the club looks to get back on track during a season-long 10-game homestand. The Rays won for just the eighth time in their last 23 games dating back to May 24, but they improved their record at Tropicana Field to an MLB-best 25-9 this season.

“This is our home,” said starter Griffin Jax, who picked up his first win as a starter since Oct. 2, 2021. “This is home field, and we have such an advantage playing here.”

The Nationals had to shuffle their pitching plans ahead of the series opener, so Mikolas entered the game in the third after two innings from lefty opener PJ Poulin. Hunter Feduccia worked a one-out walk, then Yandy Díaz reached on a single to bring up Aranda.

Aranda hadn’t homered since May 31, and his torrid RBI pace slowed as he’d driven in only five runs during his first 14 games this month. But the first baseman started hitting again during the Rays’ recent road trip, with four two-hit games in the two series, and he swatted a handful of opposite-field hits at Dodger Stadium earlier this week.

Aranda said he’s noticed that teams have been pitching him outside lately, fully aware of the damage he can do on anything in the zone or inside. He’s adjusted to that approach and found ways to shoot balls to left field.

“My mindset right now is to take advantage of that and use one of my best attributes, which is just using my hands,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “If I get a good pitch, just poke it the other way and do a good job with that.”

He did a little more than poke this one. Aranda stayed with the 1-1 changeup from Mikolas, extended his arms and sent it down the line for his 49th, 50th and 51st RBIs of the season.

“The hitter that Jonny is, it's pretty special to watch him. Just hoping that it was going to stay fair and sneak over,” said right fielder Jonny DeLuca, who launched an eighth-inning homer in his return from the injured list. “Yeah, that was pretty cool.”

Aranda’s homer gave the Rays a lead, and they didn’t give it back. Jax permitted a pair of solo homers but nothing else over five innings, although his workload was limited by a blister/nail issue on his middle finger that has bothered him during his last few outings and flared up again in the third or fourth inning.

“I think we’re starting to probably turn a corner, but trying not to let it get to the point where I have to miss a start,” Jax said. “So, it’s delicate.”

After a frustrating series at Dodger Stadium in which they lost a trio of one-run games, all of which were decided by Dodgers homers in the sixth inning or later, the Rays’ bullpen held the line over the final four innings.

Left-hander Steven Matz picked up five outs, an encouraging outing after a rough stretch, then Kevin Kelly, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker finished the game.

“It was a great game,” Aranda said. “They stuck it together today, and they were a big part in the win.”