MIAMI -- Logan Morrison continues to bite the hand that once fed him.
The Rays' first baseman spent four seasons in South Florida wearing a Marlins jersey. On Tuesday night, he homered to right off Edinson Volquez in the third to stake the Rays to an early lead en route to their 3-1 win at Marlins Park.
Morrison's homer was blistered. Per Statcast™, the drive was projected at 393 feet and 109.6 mph. The exit velocity of the blast matched his third hardest-hit homer in the Statcast™ Era.
"I just missed a spot right there," Volquez said. "I was trying to go down and away, and the ball came back to the happy zone."
On Dec. 11, 2013, the Marlins traded Morrison to the Mariners for Carter Capps. Since then, all Morrison has done against his former team is rake.
"Absolutely," answered Morrison with a smile when asked if he got satisfaction from beating the Marlins. "I'm not going to forget. I'm glad that we beat them. Hopefully we go out tomorrow [at Tropicana Field] and beat them again. But that's any team."
Morrison finished Tuesday night's game with two hits in four trips to the plate. He's now hitting .579 with two home runs and five RBIs in 19 at-bats against his former team.
"It's probably just a coincidence," said Morrison about the success he's had against the Marlins. "I got a good pitch to hit and I didn't miss it. I don't know if that has something to do with the team or not."
Morrison, who didn't have his first RBI last season until May 17, is off to a much better start this year. He's hitting .262 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.
"I still think it's a never-ending process," Morrison said. "You get a good pitch to hit, and it's easier said than done. And when you get that good pitch to hit, stay within yourself, put a good swing on it."
Rays manager Kevin Cash likes what Morrison has been doing for the Rays' offense this season.
"He's swung the bat really well," Cash said. "He's provided some consistency right in the middle of our lineup. And I think you look at LoMo and [Steven] Souza [Jr.] together, we've gotten a lot of production out of those two guys hitting five-six, generally wherever they are."