A debut to remember at altitude
Liam Hicks did not wait to introduce himself. In his first game for the Tampa Bay Rays, the catcher cleared the bases with a grand slam, his 15th home run of the season, and turned a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead in Denver on Tuesday night. Tampa Bay would need all of it, winning 9-7 in 11 innings.
Coors Field rarely offers calm, and this game ran true to type. Mickey Moniak answered with a three-run homer, his 19th of the year, and Willi Castro added a two-run shot as Colorado clawed back in front. Freddy Peralta, making his first start for the Rays, lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits.
Try it for $0.99.
Ninth-inning escape, extra-inning nerve
Down 7-5 entering the ninth, Tampa Bay found a way. Rockies closer Jordan Romano walked Taylor Walls, Yandy Diaz singled, and Jonathan Aranda tied it with a single to center. In the 11th, Ben Williamson began as the automatic runner, moved up on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Nick Frasso wild pitch, then Junior Caminero drove in an insurance run.
Frasso fell to 0-1 in his major league debut, the flip side of a night Hicks will not forget. Bryan Baker retired the side in order in the 11th for his 32nd save, more proof that Tampa Bay’s bullpen keeps finding the finish line even on nights the offense flirts with disaster.
Discover the rest of our MLB news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply