The Tampa Bay Rays found a way to win Wednesday, and that was enough for them.
The Rays committed a base-running miscue and a throwing error in an eventful 11th inning, but when it was over, they had an 7-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Tampa Bay will vie for a series win over Arizona on Thursday night.
Rays manager Kevin Cash was asked what Wednesday’s victory said about his team’s resolve.
“Hopefully a lot,” he said. “But we have to find ways to separate some games and capitalize on opportunities. I’m happy that we got it. There were a lot of people that contributed to that.”
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 0.87 ERA) is set to oppose Arizona’s Corbin Burnes (0-1, 4.64) on Thursday in a battle of right-handers.
The Diamondbacks received two more home runs Wednesday from Corbin Carroll, who is tied for the major league lead with nine.
“It’s great to see balls over the fence, but I think part of what is working is that that’s not necessarily what I am trying to do,” Carroll said. “I’m just trying to hit balls hard on a line, and those swings happen sometimes. I’ve been really pleased with how it has gone so far.”
The Diamondbacks had won seven of nine games before Wednesday’s setback.
Arizona is awaiting further word on closer A.J. Puk, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation. After an imaging test, Puk has sought second opinions from respected specialists Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Keith Meister.
ElAttrache performed Tommy John surgery on Puk in 2018 and shoulder surgery on him in 2020.
“We are still waiting for that information from all parties, all doctors,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
Rasmussen, meanwhile, has been the Rays’ most reliable starter despite Cash working to limit his innings in the pitcher’s return after three major elbow surgeries. He missed 15 months in the 2023-24 seasons before returning in a relief role last August.
“The pitch-ability. The stuff that he features,” Cash said. “He’s been pretty outstanding for us. Every time he has taken the ball, it feels like we have a chance to win the game.”
Rasmussen has pitched into the sixth inning once this season, in a 1-0 loss Friday to the New York Yankees in his last time out. He permitted one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
“We’ve kind of hovered around the mid-May area to see where we are at, how he’s responding,” Cash said. “We’re still learning a little. It’s been awhile since he’s taken on the role of a starter. To date, he has done really, really well with it.
Rasmussen pitched two hitless relief innings against the Diamondbacks last season, the only time he has faced them. He has not given up a homer in his last 62 innings dating to 2023, the longest active streak in the majors.
Burnes is still looking for his first victory since signing a six-year, $210 million free-agent deal with the Diamondbacks in the offseason, but he appears to be on the right track.
He had made quality starts in each of his last two outings.
Burnes is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three career starts against the Rays, all coming last season, when he was with Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
