ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Johnny DeLuca had three RBIs in his season debut after being sidelined by a broken right hand, Amed Rosario had three hits and two RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Mets 10-8 on Friday night.
DeLuca drove in two with a single off Jose Quintana (1-3) during a five-run third as Tampa Bay took an 8-3 lead. He had an RBI grounder in a three-run second as the Rays won for just the third time in 11 games.
“Arguably our best hitting of the season there, so encouraged by that,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We needed every bit of it.”
Yandy Díaz also had two RBIs to help Cash get his 754th victory to tie Joe Maddon for the most in franchise history.
Randy Arozarena, mired in a season-long slump, made it 9-3 with a fourth-inning solo homer. The 2023 AL All-Star is hitting .145.
“It’s good to see all these runs being scored,” Arozarena said through a translator. “We haven’t been scoring too many runs.”
Tampa Bay had 31 runs combined over the previous 10 games
Rays starter Aaron Civale was pulled with two outs in a four-run fifth after Francisco Lindor hit a two-run double. The right-hander, who allowed seven runs and six hits, has given up 18 runs over 13 2/3 innings in last three starts,
Brett Baty connected on a towering three-run homer in the second that put the Mets up 3-0. He also had a ninth inning solo drive for his first career multi-homer game,
“The way he drove those two balls was pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
New York has dropped eight of 12.
Shawn Armstrong (1-1) went 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. After giving up Baty's homer, Jason Adam worked out off a man on second and two-out jam to get his second save.
Quintana allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings. The lefty was coming off a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Apr. 28 in which he gave up one run over eight innings.
“Breaking ball wasn’t as sharp,” Mendoza said. “He just was missing his spots.”
Mets slugger Pete Alonso was 0 for 19 before his RBI double in the fifth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: Rellever Brooks Raley (left elbow) had a second MRI that showed inflammation is decreasing and he will continue his throwing program.
Rays: Shane McClanahan, not expected back until next season following Tommy John surgery, is playing catch at 90 feet. “Progressing well," Cash said. “It’s still early on in his throwing.” … RHP Taj Bradley (right pectoral strain) allowed one run and struck out eight over six innings for Triple-A Durham and may be ready to rejoin the rotation. ... Closer Pete Fairbanks (nerve-related hand issues) and 2B Brandon Lowe (right oblique strain) are scheduled to join Triple-A Durham on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Mets RHP Christian Scott will make his major league debut on Saturday night against Rays RHP Zack Littell (1-2). Scott, a Florida native, expects to have around 50 family members and friends at the game.
