Nelson Cruz made his first day at first base a memorable one, making a number of good plays in the field, and hitting a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning that broke a 1-1 tie and led the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.
Cruz’s play at first base early helped Drew Rasmussen keep the game scoreless through the first few innings. He was able to scoop out a jump throw by Wander Franco on a ground ball by Didi Gregorius in the first after Bryce Harper kept the inning going with a two-out base hit and J.T. Realmuto moved him into scoring position by drawing a walk.
Tampa Bay used three consecutive singles in the fourth inning off Phillies starter Ranger Suarez to score the first run of the evening. Wander Franco’s base hit gave him a Rays rookie record 25 consecutive games reaching base safely. He moved to second on a single by Yandy Diaz and scored on a Brandon Lowe base hit.
But Rays starter Drew Rasmussen couldn’t get the shutdown inning, as he allowed a two-out single to Gregorius, who scored on a double to right by Brad Miller to tie the game at one apiece.
Rasmussen would leave after five innings, having allowed just the one run on four hits.
Neither side would allow the stalemate to be broken until the eighth, when Brett Phillips led off with a single off Archie Bradley, then stole second base and after Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch, Cruz came up and lined a Bradley pitch into left-center, allowing both runners to come across and break the tie.
JT Chargois, who struck out Andrew McCutchen to end the bottom of the seventh inning, would get credited with the win, and Andrew Kittredge got the final six outs to earn his third save.
The win allows Tampa Bay to remain four games ahead of the New York Yankees for the lead in the American League East.
The Rays can finish off a two-game sweep in Philadelphia Wednesday night, as Ryan Yarbrough (7-4, 4.57 ERA) takes on Zack Wheeler (10-8, 2.77 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
