It wasn’t always pretty last night, but a win is a win.
The Tampa Bay Rays found their Friday night groove scoring six in the sixth for a wild 7-5 comeback win over the New York Mets at Citi Field. Jonathan Aranda homered, Danny Jansen went yard, and the bullpen held firm when it mattered most. Let’s walk through this beautiful chaos.
The Rays came out of the gate with a little contact but no real damage. Josh Lowe popped out on the very first pitch of the night, Brandon Lowe grounded out, and Yandy Díaz kept the inning alive with a soft single. Jonathan Aranda drew a walk to set the table, but Junior Caminero left some chicken on the bone, flying out sharply to left.
Taj Bradley took the hill with purpose, and after giving up a leadoff single to Francisco Lindor, he proceeded to strike out the side. Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso, three of the Mets’ heaviest bats, were all sent back to the dugout empty-handed.
After two innings of quiet bats, the top of the fourth finally brought a spark. Jonathan Aranda turned on a pitch from Mets starter Clay Holmes and sent it sailing over the right field wall for his 8th of the year to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.
But trouble started brewing immediately in the bottom half of the fourth.
An error from Bradley allowing Soto to reach base opened the door. Alonso followed with a double, and Jeff McNeil walked to load the bases. Starling Marte then poked a deflected infield single that brought in Soto to tie the game. Tyrone Taylor added a fielder’s choice RBI, and just like that, the Mets had flipped it. 2-1, New York.
The bottom of the fifth got away from Taj in a hurry. Walks to Alvarez and Lindor. Then another error, this one from Aranda, loaded the bases with no outs. Kevin Cash had seen enough. In came Eric Orze, to do his best with the inherited mess. A walk to Soto made it 3-1 Mets. Starling Marte then struck again with a clutch two-RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.
It felt like the air was leaving the Rays’ balloon but they refused to go quietly into the night.
The sixth inning was an inning that will live in Rays fans’ memories for a while.
Brandon Lowe got it started with a single, and Díaz followed with another. Aranda, red-hot, added his third hit of the night to load the bases and increase his chances of playing in the midsummer classic. Caminero popped out, but Jake Mangum, the former Mets prospect, delivered with sharp liner to center scored two and gave the Rays a pulse. 5-3.
José Caballero followed with a groundout that brought home Aranda. 5-4. Then Kameron Misner stepped in and slapped an RBI single to tie it.
The Rays weren’t done.
Misner stole second. Then Danny Jansen, who had been quiet with the bat lately, unloaded on a pitch and sent it into the left-center seats. A no-doubter. Suddenly, the Rays had a 7-5 lead, and Citi Field was stunned.
After the offensive fireworks, it was time for the bullpen to preserve the lead, and they did. Though, they left room for a little drama.
Mason Montgomery and Garrett Cleavinger teamed up to get through the sixth. Edwin Uceta took over in the seventh and found himself in a full-blown fire. Cleavinger left aftert a single by Soto, a hit-by-pitch to Alonso. Add in a walk to Brett Baty from Ucets and the bases were once again loaded, this time with two outs. But Uceta dug deep. Ronny Mauricio lifted a fly ball to left, and Jake Mangum secured it with no sweat. Inning over. Momentum still in the Rays favor.
In the eighth, a fielding error by Misner put a runner in scoring position, and a balk moved him to third. But again, the Rays escaped as Josh Lowe made a leaping grab in right to end the frame and preserve the two-run cushion.
Up 7-5 in the ninth, it was Pete Fairbanks’ time.
Pete Alonso popped out. McNeil singled. Marte walked. The tying run was aboard, and it looked like another dicey ninth was coming. But Fairbanks stayed locked in. Baty grounded into a forceout. Then came Mauricio with the game on the line. He never stood a chance as Fairbanks caught him looking on a slide.
Ballgame.
This was a game of resilience. Taj Bradley looked dominant early but unraveled after some defensive miscues and bad luck. The Rays were down 5-1 and staring at a demoralizing loss. But in the sixth, the bats exploded. Every hit mattered, every run was fought for. Jansen’s homer gave the final punch. The bullpen, from Orze to Fairbanks, came through.
Let’s give Jonathan Aranda his flowers for a moment: 3-for-4 with a homer, a walk, and a run scored.
Great comeback and these two teams have two more to go this weekend.
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