Seventh-inning onslaught lifts Rays to series-opening win over Angels

Home runs were scorched. Soft contact, intentional or not, wreaked havoc. Nick Martinez continued his career renaissance. And a bunch of shirtless fans in leftfield twirled their T-shirts in jubilation.

Just another evening at Tropicana Field, where the Rays, after defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8-5, are now an MLB-best 20-5 at home.

After accumulating a four-game losing streak in New York and Baltimore, the Rays were immediately sparked by a leadoff home run from Yandy Diaz, whose hitting continues to exceed superlative, but were otherwise held scoreless for six innings by Angels starter Walbert Ureña.

Until the 10-batter, seven-run seventh-inning onslaught arrived.

Right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn replaced Ureña with a 2-1 lead to start the seventh. He walked Cedric Mullins, the first batter he faced, and then hung a sweeper over the middle of the plate to Diaz. Diaz, down in the count 1-2, torched it 400 feet toward the "Tarps Off" fanatics in leftfield for his second home run of the game and 10th of the season. He's on pace for 30 home runs, and after the game, the typically more contact-oriented hitter joked: "I think that's a little too many for me," through team translator Kevin Vera.

In his four multi-career home run games entering Friday, Diaz's team had never lost. After he made it five, Jonathan Aranda immediately began to construct the cushion to keep it that way, working the count full before he scorched his 10th home run of the season to right-centerfield.

Some signature Rays' small ball made the inning even worse for the Angels.

After Brent Suter replaced Zeferjahn, Chandler Simpson reached on an error by Vaughn Grissom, and Junior Caminero, who had singled off of Zeferjahn, moved to third. A bunt from Oliver Dunn, in at shortstop once Ben Williamson departed after being hit on his left forearm by a pitch, scored Caminero. Nick Fortes added an RBI sacrifice bunt.

"After we kind of opened the floodgates, we went back to who we are," said Martinez, Friday's starter.

Tropicana Field was perhaps loudest when Richie Palacios roped a two-run triple to rightfield in the inning. Palacios' hitting ignited the crowd, and his celebration, so fiery it sent his helmet flying, added to the emotion.

"I just love this game so much," Palacios said postgame. "When I'm able to do anything to help the team, I'm always excited. I was able to scream and shout and do all that stuff. I blacked out."

Tampa Bay (35-19) led 8-2 after the inning finally ended.

"It was huge because we've been pretty quiet offensively the last three, four games," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the seventh. "Nice to see the guys kind of bust out for a big crooked number."

It was critical because the bullpen would prove to need the cushion.

In the eighth, reliever Hunter Bigge walked the first two batters he faced and gave up an RBI double to Grissom before exiting the game without recording an out. Kevin Kelly cleaned up the mess, but not before the Rays saw their lead shrink from six runs to three. Bryan Baker loaded the bases in the ninth, but managed to record his 15th save of the season without conceding a run.

Martinez, however, continued his stellar start to the season.

After allowing two runs in seven innings of work, he became only the eighth starting pitcher since 1900 to allow two or fewer runs in each of his first 11 starts of the season.

"There's no words to describe what Nick's been able to do for us," Diaz said. "If he's not the best pitcher this season, he's definitely top three."

Palacios called the 35-year-old Martinez the team's "president."

"We love having him out there," Palacios said. "The energy he brings is amazing."

Before Friday's game, Cash said Martinez was "the right guy to take the ball" with the team on a four-game skid. He was.

"It's steadiness. Consistency," Cash said. "(He) just executes pitches to where (there's) a lot of early swing-and-miss, and then you see a team make an adjustment on the changeup, and then he commits to it, and he gets soft contact from it."

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 10:02 PM.