After driving in the winning run on Opening Day, Francisco Mejia’s big run at the plate continued Saturday, as he homered and drove in three to help power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
The catcher wasted little time in giving the Rays the lead, as he followed Josh Lowe’s lead off triple off Jordan Lyles in the bottom of the second inning with a base hit to right to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. Kevin Kiermaier doubled Mejia to third, and after Taylor Walls drew a walk to load the bases, Tampa Bay added two more runs without the benefit of a hit. Brett Phillips’ groundout made it 2-0, and following a walk to Brandon Lowe that reloaded the bases, a Wander Franco sacrifice fly plated Kiermaier to make it a 3-0 game.
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen experienced very little trouble the first two innings, but had to work out of a jam in the third after Ryan Mountcastle homered to cut the lead back to a single run. He then allowed base hits to Anthony Santander and Trey Mancini, but struck out Ramon Urias to ensure he stayed in the lead.
But Tampa Bay would again turn to their catcher to get some breathing room, and Mejia would again deliver, following a Josh Lowe single with a two-run blast to right, his first homer of 2022.
Rasmussen worked through the fourth, and left-hander Josh Fleming would get into the eighth. J.P. Feyereisen got the final two outs of that inning, and Andrew Kittredge would allow a run on doubles from Urias and Jorge Mateo, he struck out pinch-hitter D.J. Stewart to end the game and earn his first save of 2022.
The Rays can finish off a series sweep Sunday, as Corey Kluber (5-3, 3.83 ERA with Yankees in 2021) will make his Tampa Bay debut, taking on Tyler Wells (2-3, 4.11 in 2021). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10,
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.
