DENVER — Yandy Díaz hit a go-ahead two-run single to cap a five-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 on a blustery Saturday night.
The Rays overcame home runs by Ryan McMahon, Michael Toglia and Brenton Doyle in winning on the road for the first time this season and bouncing back from a loss Friday in which they also rallied late only to lose on McMahon's game-ending grand slam.
“We’ve got an impressive group in there for sure,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I know yesterday was frustrating, but they came right back. For seven innings tonight, it was really frustrating for us, but they really pieced together another beginning and we were able to hold them off at the end.”
Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, bidding for his first win since missing most of last season after his skull was fractured when he was struck in the head by a comebacker, struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings and left with a 6-1 lead.
But the Rays rallied against the Rockies’ bullpen. Ben Rortvedt hit a two-run double off Jake Bird in the seventh to pull the Rays to 6-3. Isaac Paredes, who had an RBI single in the first, then homered off Tyler Kinley to touch off the Rays’ rally in the eighth that also featured Amed Rosario’s tying RBI single and Díaz’s go-ahead two-run single off reliever Justin Lawrence that shot past first baseman Toglia into right field.
“I was trying to do everything I can not to strike out there,” Parades said through an interpreter. “I was just trying to find a way to get on base and luckily I was able to hit that home run to start that rally.”
The Rays sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth against three relievers — Kinley, Jalen Beeks and Justin Lawrence — during a game in which the teams had to contend with winds gusting to 33 mph. Players dodged swirling hot dog wrappers and tracked down drifting flyballs and twisting liners throughout the night. Toglia’s sky-high popup in the second inning began its descent over third base but by the time it had come back to earth, traveled all the way across the diamond into the glove of first baseman Díaz. The temperature at first pitch was 46 degrees.
“It's not comfortable for hitters and honestly, I don’t think it's comfortable for pitchers either," Díaz said through an interpreter. “It was really cold out there. I put the hand warmers everywhere, had them on my hands and all over my body.”
Garrett Cleavinger (1-0) got the win in the relief, and Colin Pouche worked a scoreless ninth for his first save. Beeks (1-1) took the loss.
Tampa Bay scored all its runs in the eighth with two outs while facing three of the Rockies' most seasoned relievers.
“It was a tough one, ” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “You know, these guys, they’ll take it hard. But they'll regroup. We need them. They’re our guys. They’ll bounce back.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies INF/OF Kris Bryant was held out of the starting lineup because of some tightness in his lower back. Manager Bud Black described Bryant as day-to-day but also expressed optimism that he could be back in the lineup as early as Sunday.
UP NEXT
RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53 ERA) was slated to start Sunday for Tampa Bay in the series finale. Colorado was set to counter with RHP Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00).
