Díaz's historic 5-hit day paces Rays' scrappy effort at the plate

ST. LOUIS -- About a month ago, Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola told manager Kevin Cash that Yandy Díaz came into camp looking “the best he has looked that he can recall at this time of year.”

What happens in Spring Training often stays in Spring Training, but apparently that was a sign of things to come.

Tampa Bay’s long-serving leadoff man burst out of the gates with a big opening series, punctuated by a career-high-tying five-hit, four-RBI performance in the Rays’ 11-7 win over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Díaz was right in the middle of another impressive showing for Tampa Bay’s lineup, which rapped 17 hits in the finale and an MLB-leading 41 overall during the three-game set.

“We have a lot of contact hitters on this team. The quote-unquote 'big power bats' might not necessarily be there, but the contact is there, and that's what is our strength,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “We're just trying to play it to our best ability and move forward with our style of play.”

It was Díaz’s eighth game with at least four hits for the Rays, tied with franchise icon Evan Longoria for the third-most in team history behind Carl Crawford (29) and Aubrey Huff (nine), and just his second career five-hit game. The other came last Sept. 3 against the Mariners.

After getting off to a slow start last season, Díaz said he has been watching video of his at-bats in 2023, when he hit .330 to win the American League batting title. He’s made a few adjustments, like raising his hands to rediscover what he felt that season.

“I kind of want to replicate the same thing,” Díaz said. “That's what I've been focused on, just trying to be the best pure hitter that I can be.”

How’s he looking now?

“Pretty locked in,” Cash said. “He’s a really talented hitter.”

Most of Díaz’s contact against the Cardinals came at its usual volume: loud. But he even made the soft stuff go his way on Sunday. With two on and one out in the eighth inning, he lofted a 66.9 mph blooper to right that landed for an RBI single. He caught another good break with the bases loaded in the ninth, bouncing a ball straight into the dirt in front of the plate that wound up going for an RBI infield single.

That helped him accomplish a few feats:

• He tied the franchise record for most hits in a three-game series, with nine, matching Randy Arozarena (2022), Logan Forsythe (2015), Brendan Harris (2007) and Crawford (2005).

• He reached base safely 10 times in the opening series, which is a franchise record for the team’s first three games in a season.

• He became the third player in team history to record at least five hits and four RBIs in the same game, joining Matt Joyce (June 29, 2014, at Baltimore) and B.J. Upton (Oct. 2, 2009, against the Yankees).

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Of more immediate concern, he played a part in the Rays’ quartet of multi-run innings as they avoided a season-opening sweep. The victory made for a much happier flight to Milwaukee despite the two blown leads that led to a series defeat.

Their hitters certainly have plenty to feel good about. Despite only hitting one home run in the series -- Jonathan Aranda’s solo shot that accounted for their first run of the season -- they scored 23 runs. They only struck out 19 times. They put the ball in play, kept the line moving and used their speed to create scoring opportunities.

Even with Junior Caminero spending more time walking down the first-base line than trotting around the bases, the big bats at the top of the order delivered key hits.

“If we just keep doing what we do, this is how we're going to win games,” said Aranda, who went 3-for-6 with two RBIs on Sunday, through Vera. “This is how we're going to stack momentum and win ballgames.”

If you want to see what that looks like, rewatch Sunday’s second-inning rally.

Chandler Simpson slapped a leadoff single to left field then sped home on Jonny DeLuca’s double to left-center. DeLuca created another run, advancing to third on a flyout by Richie Palacios before scoring on a wild pitch. Carson Williams then legged out a hustle double, moved up 90 feet on a single by Hunter Feduccia and scored on the second of Díaz’s five hits, a 108.8 mph single to right field.

“We've got a really scrappy lineup,” said starter Steven Matz, who gave up four runs over five innings in his Rays debut. “We’ve got good hitters up and down, coming off the bench, and it's a really fun lineup to watch.”