The Arizona Diamondbacks have found the offensive consistency that the Tampa Bay Rays have been missing recently.
With Pavin Smith getting two more extra-base hits, the Diamondbacks won the first game of a three-game series between the two teams on Tuesday and will look for their eighth victory in the past 10 games on Wednesday night.
Arizona has scored at least five runs in six of their seven wins during the stretch.
Smith has six extra-base hits in the last six games — three homers and three doubles — and his two-run homer in the third inning gave the Diamondbacks a lead they never lost in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
“The main difference this year is being able to make adjustments quicker,” said Smith, who is hitting .397 as the primary DH after taking over from departed Joc Pederson.
“There are certain feels that I can recognize a little easier. The ball feels like it is coming in a little slower, which is nice.”
Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to oppose right-hander Taj Bradley (2-1, 5.24) in the second game of the series.
The Rays, who were shut out in three of their previous five games heading into Tuesday, have lost six of their last seven overall.
New leadoff hitter Chandler Simpson had two singles and a stolen base Tuesday in his third game in the majors, but the Rays had only four other hits.
“We certainly want to play better baseball than we have,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said about his team’s 9-14 start.
The Diamondbacks made a roster move before Tuesday’s game, optioning slumping outfielder Jake McCarthy to Reno and recalling outfielder Jorge Barrosa from the Triple-A club.
McCarthy, a 2024 Gold Glove finalist in right field, was 3-for-41 in 14 games this season, with a double and three RBIs. He was coming off a season in which he hit .285 and set career highs in triples (seven) and RBIs (56) and tied a career high in homers (eight) in 2024.
“Sometimes this is a savage business,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “He’s been one of our best players in a couple of different years. The game wasn’t working for him. The at-bats and numbers matter.”
Alek Thomas, who has 10 RBIs in 18 games, will see the majority of time in center field, Lovullo said, with Barrosa playing against left-handers. Barrosa was batting .295 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 21 games at Reno.
Bradley has made two quality starts in his four appearances this season but enters Wednesday after his worst outing, when he gave up six runs and 13 baserunners in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 loss to the New York Yankees last Thursday.
Bradley gave up nine hits, including an Oswaldo Cabrera two-run home run, and walked four while striking out three. He has gone five innings in eight of his last nine starts.
The Diamondbacks pounded Bradley in their only previous meeting, an 8-4 victory at Chase Field on June 27, 2023, in Bradley’s 11th career start. Arizona scored seven runs in four innings and hit four homers, one by Corbin Carroll.
Rodriguez is coming off his first victory of the season, a 6-4 win at Miami on Thursday. He gave up 10 hits but only one earned run and struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings.
Rodriguez peripherals are noteworthy — 29 strikeouts against six walks in 22 innings. He has gone at least five innings in each of his four starts, and he did not walk a batter at Miami.
Yandy Diaz is 8-for-20 with seven singles and no RBIs against Rodriguez, and Brandon Lowe is 4-for-14 with three homers and four RBIs.
–Field Level Media
