The Tampa Bay Rays got home runs from Austin Meadows and Mike Brosseau early, and Tristan Gray‘s two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh inning proved to be the difference as they defeated the Atlanta Braves 9-7 Sunday in the first Spring Training game of the year at Charlotte Sports Park.
Atlanta jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a single by Bryce Ball, but the Rays countered in the bottom of the inning, with Manuel Margot‘s RBI double scoring Willy Adames to tie the game, and Kevan Smith‘s base hit giving Tampa Bay the lead. Meadows then made it a 4-1 game with his first homer of the spring, a two-run blast to right.
An Adames error in the top of the third allowed the Braves to get a run back, but the Rays got the lead back to three runs in the bottom of the third, as Brosseau led off the inning against Sean Newcomb by depositing a pitch into the visiting bullpen for his first blast of the spring.
Atlanta clawed back into the game, eventually tying the game 5-5, but Gray’s two run triple in the bottom of the fifth gave the Rays the lead back.
Sean Kazmar tied the game for Atlanta in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer off Yacksel Rios, but Gray came up with a man on in the bottom of the seventh and final inning and unloaded on Thomas Burrows, blasting his first homer of the spring to right to end the game.
Chris Ellis allowed a pair of walks, but struck out two in his only inning of work. Only one Rays pitcher worked a clean inning: Joey Krehbiel, who struck out the side in the sixth.
Whitley Kneels During Anthem
Rays minor-league outfielder Garrett Whitley, the team’s first-round pick from the 2015 draft, knelt on the first base line during the playing of the national anthem Sunday. The 23-year-old was the only one seen kneeling in front of the Tampa Bay dugout.
#Rays minor league OF Garrett Whitley kneeled during anthem pic.twitter.com/IIUJayj9en
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 28, 2021
Garrett Whitley speaks after Sunday’s Spring Training game about kneeling for the national anthem (screencap by Steve Carney/St. Pete Nine)
“It won’t necessarily be an everyday thing,” Whitley said after the game. “Honestly for me it’s not a super-comfortable thing. I’m not really that vocal in general — I’m normally quiet guy usually — especially when it comes to things like that, but it’s just too important to not say anything.”
Whitley said he played for an independent ball team over the summer and started kneeling at that time. He said the team’s ownership group had problems with him kneeling, and he was released soon after kneeling, but the players and front office with the Rays were all supportive of his decision.
“I just don’t want people to forget,” Whitley said. “Just because there’s a new administration, and that kind of thing, there’s still so much to be done, and so many problems that need to be addressed.”
Next Up This Spring
Tampa Bay will welcome the Minnesota Twins to Charlotte Sports Park for the first time this spring Monday. Tyler Glasnow will make his first Grapefruit League start, and is expected to go just one inning. Trevor Richards, Dietrich Enns, Louis Head, and Kenny Rosenberg are also scheduled to pitch in the contest. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
