ST. PETERSBURG — After sitting out the final 4 video games as a result of tightness in his left groin, Yandy Díaz returned to the Rays’ lineup Saturday afternoon and picked up proper the place he left off: performing like arguably the very best hitter within the Majors thus far this season.
Díaz continued his scorching-hot begin with a three-hit day and a three-run homer, certainly one of Tampa Bay’s three dwelling runs in an 8-4 win over Milwaukee at Tropicana Field. The victory improved the Rays’ file to 34-13 general and 21-3 at dwelling, making them certainly one of two groups (alongside the 1978 Red Sox) within the Modern Era to win 21 of their first 24 dwelling video games to start a season.
The largest blow of the day was Díaz’s blast to middle area off Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer within the second inning, his team-leading eleventh homer of the season.
“Nice to have him back in the lineup,” Rays supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned, smiling. “He can do some pretty good things.”
Seven weeks into the season, Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter has carried out loads of good issues.
Díaz leads the American League in batting common (.333) and on-base share (.436) and paces the Majors in OPS (1.054), simply forward of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Aaron Judge. He’s scored 34 runs and pushed in 27, and he’s recorded almost as many walks (23) as strikeouts (25).
“He’s such a rock for us,” mentioned Rays starter Zach Eflin, who held the Brewers to 3 runs whereas placing out eight over seven environment friendly, walk-free innings. “To see Yandy Díaz come up as the first hitter an opponent team faces is incredible. … He’s everything you want in a leadoff hitter.”
For years, each evaluation of Díaz centered as a lot on what he wasn’t as what he was. Analysts raved concerning the nook infielder’s disciplined method and bat-to-ball capacity however at all times questioned why such a muscular man hit for thus little energy. What would it not take for Díaz to show his exhausting floor balls into dwelling runs?
This 12 months, he has left little room for criticism.
He’s nonetheless hitting for common and getting on base. And the facility has come alongside, too, because of the modified method on the plate he displayed in opposition to Lauer within the second inning Saturday.
After grounding out in his first at-bat since final Sunday at Yankee Stadium, Díaz got here to the plate with two outs and the Rays main by a run. He whiffed on a curveball and took a cutter outdoors the strike zone. With the rely even, he wasn’t going to make the identical mistake he did on the primary pitch.
“I was looking for it again,” mentioned Díaz, who prolonged his hitting streak to a career-high 13 video games, by interpreter Manny Navarro. “So if he were to throw it again, I was ready for it. … All I try to do is just make hard contact, and it seems like they’re just going out.”
Sure sufficient, Díaz crushed Lauer’s subsequent curveball a Statcast-projected 421 ft to middle with an exit velocity of 104.9 mph. Saturday was his fortieth recreation of the season, and he’s already solely three dwelling runs shy of the career-high mark he set with the Rays in 2019.
“It’s pretty remarkable what he has done. I know he’s worked hard, and he really just trusts himself to have the confidence to be able to take some chances,” Cash mentioned. “When he needs to see the ball maybe a little bit deeper and pick up the hit, he can do that as well.”
He confirmed that in his remaining at-bat, taking pictures an opposite-field single off reliever Jake Cousins to begin Tampa Bay’s two-run rally within the seventh inning. He was then changed by pinch-runner Luke Raley, however he mentioned it was for precautionary causes, and he’s anticipated to begin Sunday’s collection finale.
“He’s going to play with a little bit of soreness right now,” Cash mentioned. “If we can manage the workload, or we need to really have an opportunity to score on a double from first base, we’ve got to be mindful of those decisions.”
Díaz didn’t do it alone for the homer-happy Rays, although. Harold Ramírez and Christian Bethancourt additionally slugged their seventh dwelling runs of the season, giving Tampa Bay an MLB-leading 90 after 47 video games. Saturday was the membership’s twenty sixth multi-homer recreation and MLB-best fifteenth with a minimum of three longballs.
“It’s incredible. They’re doing it pretty much every single night, which has been awesome,” Eflin mentioned. “We’re close to 50 games in, and there’s been no let-up.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com