ST. PETERSBURG -- When the Rays are rolling, they’ll win a lot of games the way they won Saturday night against the Giants.
No one in the lineup homered. Nobody had a three-hit game. No pitcher recorded more than nine outs. If you want to pick a defensive play of the game, you’ll have to sort through a couple of equally deserving candidates.
Their 5-1 victory at Tropicana Field was the definition of a team win, an encapsulation of a certain brand of Rays baseball and a good example of why Tampa Bay is one of the hottest teams in the Majors.
“I think I've always mentioned the versatility of this club, and I think it really showcases in games like these where it's not just any one guy,” right fielder Jonny DeLuca said. “It's every single [person on] defense, offense, pitching -- everything.”
The Rays have won 15 of their last 20 games to improve to 20-12 on the year, the second-best mark in the American League behind only the Yankees (22-11). Since April 10, the Braves (16-5 after winning Saturday night) are the only team that has matched Tampa Bay’s record.
The Rays cruised to a win Saturday while guiding Griffin Jax from the bullpen back to the rotation, battling a number of injuries and playing without cleanup hitter Yandy Díaz. None of that was an issue as they secured their sixth series victory of the season.
What’s been the key to their success? As usual, it starts on the mound.
The Rays have allowed three runs or fewer in each of their last nine games, tying the third-longest streak (May 22-30, 2019) in franchise history. Their starting pitching has been stellar during that stretch, with five scoreless outings -- including Jax’s 2 2/3-inning appearance as an opener on Saturday.
“We definitely have some very solid momentum,” Jax said. “Everybody's excited to take the ball the next day and be the next person that kind of keeps that train rolling.”
The bullpen has also been steady, and they handled the bulk of the innings after Jax gave up just one hit and a walk while striking out two before hitting his 45-pitch limit. Jesse Scholtens worked three innings, Kevin Kelly recorded four outs, Garrett Cleavinger pitched a scoreless eighth in his return from the injured list, and recent pickup Casey Legumina handled the ninth with a four-run lead.
Since the eighth inning of last Sunday’s game against the Twins, the Rays' bullpen has permitted just one run in 18 1/3 innings. No matter who’s on the mound, they’ve been getting the job done lately.
“They've been attacking the zone very well, and they've been keeping us in games like nobody's business,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said.
But run prevention is more than just pitching, of course. Manager Kevin Cash called Friday’s 3-0 victory arguably their best defensive day of the season, and they were pretty sharp in the field on Saturday, too.
DeLuca made a diving grab behind Jax in the third inning, catcher Hunter Feduccia and second baseman Richie Palacios teamed up to catch Casey Schmitt stealing second in the fourth inning, Mullins made a sliding snag in the sixth and Junior Caminero reacted quickly to snare a Willy Adames line drive in the ninth, which he punctuated with a fitting Dikembe Mutombo-esque finger wag.
“They're playing good baseball right now,” Cash said. “We're doing a lot of things, covering a lot of ground.”
Meanwhile, the Rays continue to get the most out of a multi-dimensional lineup. On Friday, Caminero and Díaz backed starter Shane McClanahan with a pair of impressive homers. But they weren’t likely to barrel the ball around the park against Giants starter Landen Roupp on Saturday, so they took a different approach.
Caminero helped them get on the board in the fourth inning by legging out an infield single, hustling to third on a single by Jonathan Aranda then scoring when Jake Fraley dropped a single just in front of center fielder Jung Hoo Lee.
Their big inning came in the fifth. Feduccia hit a leadoff double, then the Rays loaded the bases with a walk by Taylor Walls and a bunt single by Chandler Simpson. Mullins worked a bases-loaded walk, then Aranda -- tied with Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead with 27 RBIs -- drove in two more runs on a single to center.
DeLuca created the Rays’ final run himself, ripping a double with two outs in the eighth, stealing third and scoring on a throwing error.
“It's our identity, right? Sometimes it's small ball, sometimes it's the long ball, and sometimes it's both,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “We were just able to do it all today, and we were able to put it all together and be able to get the win.”