After a rather underwhelming June in which it felt at times that the Rays were in free fall destined to repeat the 2025 season spiral, they rebounded and rattled off five consecutive wins. Now, 81 games down and eight sweeps later, they again sit atop the AL East with sole possession of the division lead for the first time since June 6th.
Junior Caminero has been leading the charge at the plate and Sunday was no exception. He got the party started in the first with a RBI-single and then launched a towering 463-foot bomb to the party deck in left-center field in the fifth inning to extend the Rays lead to 4-0. The blast was his seventh in six games.
The Rays added on in the second inning via the longball. Cedric Mullins hit his eighth of the year to right center. The solo shot gave the Rays a 2-0 lead. Then, Walls scored on a Yandy Diaz sac fly to give the Rays a 3-0 advantage.
Ben Williamson got in on the fun in the sixth with a solo shot of his own. His second homer of the year extended the lead to 5-0.
Rasmussen was again stellar, tossing six shutout innings and collecting his seventh win of the season. He punched out five, walked one, and allowed just three hits. His ERA now sits at 2.45.
Kimbrel, Cleavinger, and Martin wrapped things up on the mound for the Rays. Cleavinger allowed the only run of the day on a solo homer off the bat Ketel Marte. The score of 5-1 would hold as the Rays finished off the series sweep.
AL East sweeps appeared to be a popular weekend activity as the Red Sox completed a 4-game sweep of the Yankees, allowing the Rays to leapfrog the Bronx Bombers and retake first place in the East. The Rays will have Monday off before heading to Kansas City to face off against the Royals. Jax will get the start Tuesday as the team looks to keep the good times rolling.
