PITTSBURGH -- For all the weird and wild stuff that took place throughout the Rays’ 13-inning, rain-delayed, all-hands-on-deck 8-7 victory over the Pirates that consumed most of Saturday, one play still had some people talking after the fact.
With the bases loaded, the Rays up by 2 after Cedric Mullins’ homer and one out in the 13th, Junior Caminero hit a 102.3 mph ground ball to second baseman Brandon Lowe. The former Ray flipped the ball to shortstop Konnor Griffin, who stepped on second base to force out Chandler Simpson then collided with the sliding Simpson.
Recognizing he was out, Simpson slid early to get out of the way. But Griffin came across the bag, made contact with Simpson and crashed to the infield dirt as he threw. Caminero was ruled out at first as a result of runner’s interference on Simpson.
Rays manager Kevin Cash came out to discuss the ruling, but it remained an inning-ending double play. After the game, Cash said he thought Simpson “did everything right, avoiding contact, and he was 10 to 15 feet in front of the bag.”
“I don't know what else he's supposed to do,” Cash said. “Cami, I'm assuming, probably would have been out regardless. But a play that you generally don't see. I mean, Griffin comes across the bag. He's a big, big guy. A lot of momentum. It felt like he carried a lot of ground beyond second base. I'm not sure what our runner is supposed to do.”
Simpson said Sunday morning that he was just trying to slide “and get out of the way,” not take out Griffin, and he wasn’t expecting the top shortstop prospect to take that angle to throw the ball to first.
Simpson said he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the call itself, though, because there was a collision. If there’s a similar situation in the future, he said, he’ll just slide straight toward the base.
“Just two bad angles happened to have a collision, but that's all it was,” Simpson said. “I wasn't trying to hurt or injure anybody. I was really trying to get out of the way. But what's perceived is going to be perceived. I know I had no ill intention on it, so that's what I'm going to live with.”
As tired as they were after the four-hour, 12-minute marathon game -- with a two-hour, 27-minute rain delay for good measure -- the Rays were still buzzing about the eventful, thrilling victory as they reported to PNC Park on Sunday morning.
It was the longest game by innings in the Majors this season, the Rays’ longest game since a 13-inning win against the Angels on April 16, 2024, and their longest on the road since Game 2 of the 2022 American League Wild Card Series in Cleveland. It was also Tampa Bay’s longest game by time since MLB introduced the pitch clock in 2023.
The Rays used 22 players -- all 13 position players, starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen and all eight relievers in the bullpen -- for just the second time since 26-man rosters were introduced in 2020.
“I mean, the majority of us got here at 12 o'clock, and we didn't get back to our hotel ‘til 11 o'clock at night. An 11-hour workday,” outfielder Jake Fraley said, laughing. “To be able to just kind of close it out like that -- and dude, the bullpen. I mean, [right-hander Yoendrys Gómez] going out there and closing out the game -- after I don't know how many pitches he threw the game before -- that's awesome.
“And I think that adds to the emotional side of it, too, because you've just got a lot of guys that are putting it on the line, especially this early in the year. Dude, to have guys like that in a clubhouse like this, it's huge. Because getting wins like that make a big difference at the end of the year.”