By Noah Shelton @ItsTheSpin
It was the twelfth win of the year, and at one point an 8-2 lead. The Rays finished on top of the Dodgers for the first time since June 24, 2007, with an 8-5 win on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.
The offense showed its ability to hit the long ball Wednesday. The Rays scored eight runs thanks to four homeruns and back-to-back three run innings in the sixth and seventh.
The bats of the Rays were the real reason behind the win on Wednesday. The Rays recorded 10 hits against the Dodgers. The lineup was also able to end a couple hitless streaks: Steven Souza Jr. ended his 0-for-10 with a solo homer in the fourth, and Desmond Jennings ended a disgusting 0-for-26 with a single to center in the eighth inning. The other three homeruns came from a three run rocket to left by Steve Pearce in the sixth and solos from Brandon Guyer in the first inning and Curt Casali in the seventh.
“It was a needed win; Last night was frustrating. Tonight, to come out and get on the board first was big. All the homeruns helped a lot. It was nice to be able to separate the game.” Manager Kevin Cash said postgame.
Drew Smyly had a solid performance. The first five outs recorded in the game were strikeouts, and the Dodgers were held scoreless until the fourth inning. Smyly would exit the game in the sixth after allowing hits to the first two batters of the inning. Smyly finished the night with five innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
“I thought Smyly threw the ball really good. His pitch count got up simply because of the amount of strikeouts and some long at-bats. But, Drew continues to throw the ball really well for us.” Cash said postgame.
Erasmo Ramirez entered in the sixth inning with no outs and runners on first and third. Ramirez allowed Puig to reach home from third after a wild pitch, but that would be the only run under his watch. Ramirez worked two innings with no earned runs, one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Enny Romero entered in the eighth and allowed the Dodgers to make-up some ground on the Rays. Romero never had control over his pitches and Xavier Cedeno relieved him with no outs and the bases loaded. In zero innings of work, Romero was charged with three runs on one hit and a disturbing three walks. Cedeno, also, allowed a walk in the eighth, and the Dodgers tacked on two more runs to finish the inning.
Alex Colome entered in the ninth inning with a save opportunity, and was able to ensure the win. Allowing one hit with two strikeouts in the ninth, Colome earned his sixth save of the season.
The first interleague series of the year for the Tampa Bay Rays ended in a 1-1 tie, but great confidence has come from this win against the Dodgers’ historic brand of baseball.
The Rays are now two games from .500, and everyone is still tight within the AL East.
The Rays will start a six game road trip on the west coast Friday, with match-ups against the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners. Each of these teams are beatable. If the Rays can get a couple of road series wins in the coming days, expectations will be high in Tampa Bay for serious AL East contenders.
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