The Rays did not win Sunday because they controlled the game.
They won because they stayed close enough for one break to change everything.
Tampa Bay trailed San Diego 3-1 with two outs in the ninth before Junior Caminero singled against Mason Miller. Jonny DeLuca followed with a fly ball that appeared destined to end the game, but Samad Taylor’s collision with the left-field wall knocked the ball out of his glove and over the fence for a game-tying two-run homer.
It was an extraordinary break. What happened around it was more repeatable.
Drew Rasmussen kept Tampa Bay within striking distance by allowing two runs over six innings, and the Rays bullpen covered five more innings without allowing an earned run. That pitching gave the offense enough time to recover.
Then Tampa Bay’s speed took over.
The Rays stole five bases, including three from Jorge Mateo. In the 11th, Kenny Piper’s steal of second added pressure to an already difficult situation for San Diego. DeLuca’s weak ground ball then produced the tying run when Xander Bogaerts failed to field it cleanly.
Mateo finished it moments later with a 96.4-mph single into left.
What the Box Score Misses
DeLuca’s ninth-inning homer traveled only 319 feet and left the bat at 90.7 mph.
Caminero’s earlier home run left at 111.3 mph and traveled 454 feet.
Both count the same in the box score. They were anything but the same kind of contact.
That contrast tells much of the story. Tampa Bay combined legitimate power, pitching, speed, defensive pressure and a considerable amount of baseball variance to escape with the win.
After the Final Out
The Rays finished the series with a sweep and improved to 82-54.
More importantly, they showed again why close games remain winnable when the pitching staff prevents separation. Tampa Bay was nearly finished in the ninth, fell behind again in the 11th and still found a way to answer both times.
The unusual bounce will get the highlight.
The pitching and pressure are what made the highlight matter.
Player of the Game: Jonny DeLuca
Biggest Positive: Five innings from the bullpen without an earned run
Biggest Concern: Tampa Bay went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position
Final Thought: Good teams cannot manufacture lucky breaks, but they can put themselves in position to capitalize when one arrives.
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