All the damage came in a hurry. Tampa Bay scored three times in the first inning and never needed another run, beating Texas 3-0 at Tropicana Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| TB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Ryan Vilade drove in both of his runs on a two-run homer to left center, finishing 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Yandy Diaz opened the scoring with a solo shot to right and went 1-for-3 with a walk. Jonathan Aranda added a double and scored a run, going 1-for-4.
Diaz got things started when he homered to right on a 372-foot shot, putting the Rays ahead 1-0 and erasing what had been a tied game. Vilade followed with a 420-foot homer to left center that scored Aranda ahead of him, stretching the lead to 3-0 before Texas starter MacKenzie Gore had recorded much more than the first few outs of the game.
Gore otherwise pitched well, working 7.0 innings and allowing just three hits while striking out 9 without issuing a walk. But the three runs, all earned, were enough to saddle him with the loss, dropping him to 6-9 and carrying a 4.77 ERA. Rays starter Casey Legumina worked 1.2 innings without allowing a run, and Ian Seymour picked up the win in relief, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts to improve to 7-3. Bryan Baker closed it out with a scoreless inning for his 29th save, as Tampa Bay's bullpen combined for 7.1 innings without allowing a run.
The result snapped Texas's momentum with a loss, dropping the Rangers to 55-53, while Tampa Bay improved to 63-44 and sits atop its division. Diaz, who drove in a run in the first, remains 14 RBI shy of 500 for his career.