What started as a tight, 1-1 battle between two 85-win division leaders in Atlanta quickly turned into a complete boat race, with the AL East leading Rays absolutely crushing the NL East Braves 7-1. Man, what a turnaround. Early on, you had two top teams, both sitting pretty atop their divisions, duking it out. Both starters looked shaky in the first, giving up a run each, and it totally felt like we were headed for an 11-10 slugfest. Instead, Freddy Peralta got it together, big time.
Freddy Peralta Settled Down While The Bats Exploded
After that shaky first inning, Freddy Peralta just put up zeros, flat out. He pitched five more scoreless frames after the first, giving the Rays exactly what they needed. The Braves’ starter, AJ Smith-Shawver, wasn’t so lucky and got pulled before he could even finish the fourth. The Rays’ offense, though? They were just getting warmed up. Junior Caminero got the party started in the first, launching his league-leading 39th homer of the year, a monstrous 455-foot blast deep into the right field stands for an early 1-0 lead. The Braves tied it up in the bottom of the first, but once the game hit the third inning tied at 1-1, the Rays went to work. Junior got on first, then Hicks absolutely clobbered his 18th homer of the year, making it 3-1. Simpson singled, swiped second, and then scored on a two-out RBI single from Mesa Jr., pushing the lead to 4-1. That’s how you capitalize on momentum, folks.
Rays Kept Pouring It On, Bullpen Shut The Door
With a 4-1 lead heading into the sixth, Mateo started things off with an infield single, then just shot to third on an errant pickoff attempt. Yandy picked up the RBI on a ground out, stretching it to 5-1. Just to make sure, the Rays added two more insurance runs with solo shots from Yandy in the eighth and Palacios in the ninth, making it a definitive 7-1. The offense was cooking, racking up eleven hits to Atlanta’s five, with Yandy, Caminero, and Mesa Jr. all having multi-hit days. Peralta finished his outing with six innings of one-run baseball, allowing five hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Cash then turned it over to Kelly, Sulser, and Brian Baker for the final three innings. Those guys threw three hitless innings, with Baker looking completely back to his normal self after dealing with an illness. What a win.
So, the Rays hold onto their four-game lead in the division, even with the Yankees getting a win. They’re sitting at an incredible 86-58, 28 games over .500, and rocking the third-best winning percentage in all of baseball. Looking ahead to Wednesday night, Griffin Jax is on the mound, and you know he’s gotta be hungry to rebound after a shaky first start back from the IL. Let’s see if he can keep this momentum rolling.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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