After making his Major League debut Sunday, outfielder Jake Mangum got his first major league hit Monday and followed it up with three more as well as his first two RBI, helping power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Mangum’s big night started with a single to center with one out in the bottom of the third inning. The former Mississippi State standout (who, as was pointed out multiple times during the telecast, is the SEC’s all-time leader in hits), immediately stole second base, but would be stranded on base to end the inning.
Tampa Bay got on the scoreboard an inning later against Carmen Mlodzinski, as Junior Caminero singled and Jonathan Aranda doubled in front of Christopher Morel, who singled in Caminero. Kameron Misner‘s double then plated Aranda to make the lead 2-0, and after Danny Jansen struck out, Mangum’s second hit of the night extended the advantage to 4-0.
The Rays made the lead 5-0 in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Mangum and Jose Caballero off reliever Tim Mayza, and after the Pirates ended the shutout bid in the eighth thanks to an RBI single by Adam Frazier, Yandy Diaz got the run back in the bottom om the frame with a sacrifice fly.
Drew Rasmussen, making his first start of the year after spending most of his time in 2024 in the bullpen following elbow surgery, allowed just two hits in five innings, striking out four without allowing a walk.
Hunter Bigge pitched two perfect innings of relief, and after Mason Englert allowed Pittsburgh’s run in the eighth, Manuel Rodriguez struck out a pair in a perfect ninth to end the game.
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.
