Hicks' historic slam helps Rays survive Peralta's shaky debut

DENVER -- Everything was new for Liam Hicks on his first day with the Rays.

He walked into the visitors' clubhouse at Coors Field on Tuesday afternoon to find a new No. 34 uniform. New teammates and coaches. A new opportunity, with regular work behind the plate and a natural fit in the cleanup spot. A new place in the standings, having been dealt Monday from the Marlins to Tampa Bay’s American League-leading squad. So many new pitchers to learn.

The thought even crossed his mind that he’d have to learn a new home run celebration, but he was hesitant to ask about it before taking the field for his first game. Didn’t want to jinx anything, you know?

Hicks had to learn a lot about the Rays on Day 1, and they got to learn a lot about him. Tampa Bay’s newest catcher launched his first career grand slam, guided starter Freddy Peralta through a shaky Rays debut then handled 7 1/3 brilliant innings from the bullpen in a 9-7, 11-inning win over the Rockies on Tuesday night.

“I mean, it went pretty well, yeah,” Hicks said, grinning. “Not exactly how I probably drew it up, but I mean, I'm really happy with how it went and excited we got the win.”

Batting cleanup, Hicks stepped in against Rockies starter Gabriel Hughes with the bases loaded in the third inning. He turned on a fastball and blasted it a Statcast-projected 402 feet out to right field for his first career grand slam and the Rays’ first of the season.

It also made him the first player in franchise history to hit a slam in his team debut. After all he’d been through over the last 24 hours, what was going through his head in that moment?

“Just relieved,” he said, smiling. “You feel the pressure, even though you're not trying to put pressure on yourself [in the] first game, but it's really nice to get that one out of the way and just kind of be able to breathe a little bit.”

Sure enough, Hicks got to learn about the Rays’ home run celebration. Junior Caminero told him to take his helmet off and run through the line of teammates assembled in the dugout, although the first run wasn’t quite so smooth.

“I didn't know what to expect, but glad I learned that one early on,” Hicks said. “I was kind of walking through, and they're like, 'No, come on, like, hurry up.'”

Hicks’ big hit gave the Rays a 5-1 lead, but his batterymate’s first game with his new team did not go so smoothly. Peralta gave up seven runs on nine hits, including two homers, and left the game after 3 2/3 innings in line for a loss.

It wasn’t what Peralta was hoping for, given a fresh start with the Rays after a rough stretch with the Mets, but neither he nor manager Kevin Cash seemed concerned or discouraged.

“I know that this is a new opportunity, and people have been helping me really well here,” Peralta said. “I know I'm gonna get better, because we're gonna work for that.”

Peralta could also find solace in everything that happened after he left the game.

They tied the game in the ninth on a two-run single by Jonathan Aranda. They scratched across two runs in the 11th, capitalizing on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Walls, a wild pitch and hits from Yandy Díaz and Caminero.

But it was Tampa Bay’s bullpen that wound up stealing the show in the end. Six relievers combined to work 7 1/3 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed, a remarkable performance in any context -- but especially in a ballpark built for offensive outbursts.

Cam Booser, Casey Legumina, Steven Matz, Kevin Kelly and Garrett Cleavinger held the line between Peralta’s exit and the 11th, then Bryan Baker delivered as he so often has for the Rays, retiring all three batters he faced to secure his Major League-leading 32nd save.

“It's impressive,” Walls said. “They came up huge when we really needed them.”

So did Hicks. It might take some time for him to learn everything about the pitchers he’s working with, but with some help from Nick Fortes and the coaching staff, he got what Cash called a “crash course” in just one night.

“The way he navigated that was pretty awesome,” Baker said. “I gave him props for the homer, but I told him the catching was what did it for me today. It was a great debut.”

“He made a lot of new friends real quick,” Cash added.

Not bad for a first impression, right?

“I don't know if you can make a better one,” Cash said, laughing. “He made a really good first impression. You don't get a second chance at it, so good for him.”