ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Saturday’s game took an odd turn for the Rays at the start of the eighth inning.
First Yandy Diaz, who had three hits and scored two of their first three runs, walked off the field during warmups and had to be assisted into the dugout as he left the game, treated for what the team later said was dehydration. Four pitches later, reliever Jason Adam gave up a homer to Gavin Sheets that erased their lead.
But it turned out all right at the end, before a Tropicana Field crowd of 22,333, as the Rays walked off the White Sox for the second straight day with a 4-3 victory.
Randy Arozarena capped a big day by singling in Vidal Brujan, who was a pinch runner and started the inning at second. After Isaac Paredes flied out, the Sox intentionally walked Wander Franco for Jimmy Lambert to face Arozarena, and that failed miserably.
At a majors-leading 18-3, the Rays matched the second-best 21-game start in modern era history. Only three teams started better: the 1984 Tigers, 1955 Dodgers and 1911 Tigers, who all were 19-2. The Rays joined six other teams at 18-3: The 2003 Yankees, 1987 Brewers, 1981 A’s, 1946 Red Sox, 1938 Giants and 1918 Giants.
The Rays grabbed an early lead and a couple of records. Diaz laced a leadoff single, then with one out Arozarena drove a Dylan Cease pitch over the left-center-field wall.
That extended the Rays’ streak of homers to all 21 games, surpassing the season-starting record 20 by the 2019 Mariners. Going back to the final game of last season, the Rays also set a franchise record by going deep in 22 straight.
Shane McClanahan delivered another strong six-inning start for the Rays, striking out a season-high 10 and allowing only three hits. The problem was that two were solo homers — a massive 434-foot shot to left by Eloy Jimenez leading off the second, and another by Yasmani Grandal to open the fifth.
The Rays rallied to take the lead in their side of the fifth.
Diaz got them started with a leadoff single, and a well-executed hit-and-run single by Franco put runners on the corners and knocked out Cease. After Franco was caught stealing, Arozarena greeted reliever Keynan Middleton by bouncing a single through the left side to make it 3-2.
The Sox tied it on Sheets’ homer.
Pete Fairbanks worked the ninth, and in the process broke J.P. Howell’s team record for consecutive scoreless innings as he now has 28. Howell had 27 1/3 in 2012.
