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The Tampa Bay Rays enter the second half of the season one game under .500 at 40-41. They came into the series with the Washington Nationals winning their last three series. Those series were against the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Seattle Mariners. This three-game series against the Nationals should be easy to win. We will have to wait and see.
The Rays will find out the state of their stadium on July 18th instead of the 11th. The fans of the franchise will mark that day on their calendars and cross their fingers. If the vote does not go positively, it could be trouble for the organization staying in the Tampa Bay area. Two familiar faces returned in manager Dave Martinez, who at one time was a bench coach for the Rays. Also returning is Harold Ramirez who was released by Tampa Bay last week.
The two starting pitchers for game one were Mitchell Parker (5-3), 3.30 ERA, and 58 strikeouts for the visiting Nationals. The Rays countered with Zack Eflin who has a 3-5 record, 4.20 ERA, and 63 strikeouts. Washington was wearing their all-grey jerseys with navy blue caps. Tampa was wearing all-white “Devil Rays” jerseys with navy blue caps.
The Tampa Bay Rays got on the board first with a solo home run from Jose Siri. In the bottom of the third inning, Yandy Diaz set a new franchise record with a hit in 20 straight games. He surpassed Jason Barlett who held the record at 19. Tampa got a second run when Isaac Paredes got a single to center field. The center fielder Jacob Young booted it and Randy Arozarena came around to score. The Rays led 2-0 after three innings.
Siri would have another solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Rays a 3-0 lead. It was Siri’s fifth multi-home run game in his career. Washington finally got on the board with Jacob Young stealing a base and catcher Alex Jackson committing a throwing error. As the game headed into the final three innings the Tampa Bay Rays led 3-1. 14,959 was the announced attendance for the game. One of the players that stood out was Jose Siri who went 2-3 with two solo home runs and a walk. He accounted for two of three Rays runs. Pete Fairbanks came in to close out the game and the Rays won game one 3-1.
This was a cool game to be a fan of. The fans were into the game the entire time. Witnessing Yandy Diaz break a Tampa Bay Rays franchise record for hitting in 20 straight games breaking Jason Barlett’s 19-game hitting streak. Diaz went 1 for 4 with the single to break the record. Tampa pitching combined for nine strikeouts with six coming from the winning pitcher Zack Eflin. This was a good start for the Rays coming off losing the last game against the Mariners. Tampa heads into an afternoon game back at.500 for game two with the Washington Nationals.
Was this a complete game for the Tampa Bay Rays? Leave a comment below.
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