The Tampa Bay Rays problems away from St. Petersburg continued Wednesday, as Trea Turner hit for the cycle on his 28th birthday, and Starlin Castro homered and drove in four to help Washington soundly defeat the Rays 15-6 at Nationals Park.
The two sides went back and forth early in the game, as Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against Jon Lester thanks to a sacrifice fly by Randy Arozarena and a solo homer off the bat of Yandy Diaz. But Washington immediately answered with a single by Turner, a stolen base, a walk to Juan Soto, and after a double steal, a two-run single by Josh Bell of Drew Rasmussen in the bottom of the first.
The Rays took the lead back in the third, when Mike Zunino blasted a two-run homer, his 18th of the year, but the Nationals tied the game against lefty Ryan Sherriff with RBI singles by Soto and Bell, and a two-run single by Castro.
Arozarena got the Rays back to within a run in the fourth with an RBI double, but Turner’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning against Michael Wacha gave Washington an insurance run, and it would continue to grow. Jordy Mercer‘s solo shot, his first of the year, off Wacha in the fifth made it 8-5, and the Nationals would extend their lead to 11-5 in the sixth against the right-hander with an RBI single by Soto and a two-run blast by Castro.
Relievers Diego Castillo and Pete Fairbaks would allow four more runs to score in the eighth with an RBI single by Yan Gomes, a two-run double for Josh Harrison, and a sacrifice fly by Victor Robles.
Wander Franco‘s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth set the score at 15-6.
Tmpa Bay will have Thursday off before heading to Buffalo to begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch from Sahlen Field is set for 7:07 Friday evening.
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.
