TAMPA, Fla. — After playing four games in the Bronx against the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays got to travel all the way to Queens to start a three-game set with the New York Mets on Tuesday night.
And as it’s been for the first quarter of this season so far, everything came up Rays at Citi Field, including a scoreboard malfunction that displayed their logo on the Mets’ giant new board - which solicited boos from the Mets faithful.
On the latest episode of the Locked On Rays podcast, hosts Ulises Sambrano and Kevin Weiss discussed the big win for the best team in baseball.
BE SURE to listen and subscribe to the Locked On Rays podcast wherever you find your podcasts!
Weiss said, “It’s so funny how the world works where on yesterday’s episode we were talking about Isaac Paredes lo and behold, the next day he bashes out two dingers and five RBIs and says, ‘Uh, don’t be talking about getting rid of me. I want to stay on this team for a little while.”
Paredes finished the game 2-3 with those two home runs, five runs batted in, and a walk. He got the scoring going against Justin Verlander, who had a rough time against a tough Rays lineup. Paredes hit a three-run shot off Verlander to give the Rays a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning, and he hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth off Verlander to put the Rays up 6-0. Verlander did not come out to pitch the sixth— he was up to 96 pitches after the fifth ended—and finished the day having given up six runs on eight hits in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts.
After the game, Paredes said through his interpreter, “It was a great day, especially with Verlander being such a great pitcher. My mentality was to be able to go up there and do well against those guys.”
Paredes wasn’t the only Ray to go deep in Tuesday night’s game. Jose Siri also hit a home run in the sixth inning off reliever Dominic Leone - which brings the team’s total for the season up to 84 - and leadoff batter Harold Ramirez also had a nice game going 3-5 with two runs batted in.
This is the 21st game in which the Rays have scored at least eight runs. Manager Kevin Cash said about his offense, “they are putting pressure on pitchers, getting starters out of games early. The awareness they are going up to the plate with, whether it’s a starter or reliever, it’s given us a better advantage of accomplishing good things. The eight-run mark is a pretty good one.”
The Rays opted for a bullpen game on Tuesday night with Jalen Beeks as the opener—he pitched two scoreless innings—and Yonny Chirinos picked up the win.
Tampa is now 32-11 on the season, and up next, they face Mets’ righty Kodai Senga in the second game of this three-game set.
BE SURE to listen and subscribe to the Locked On Rays podcast wherever you find your podcasts!