Homeruns lead to Father’s Day fun - Rays 8, Braves 6
Ben Rortvedt hits a grandslam on Father’s Day
These Rays have looked defeated as of late, so on Father’s Day it was nice to see some fire with their best starter on the mound.
With an illness working its way through the Rays clubhouse we had RIchie Palacios at third base and Amed Rosario at short, with Yandy Diaz at DH and Isaac Paredes at first. Was any of that illness related? Or was Kevin Cash looking for a spark with the team having lost 2 of 9?
The Rays led things off with a Yandy Diaz double and a Randy hot shot that deflected off second base to score the first run.
The Braves answered with a lead off solo shot to get things rolling, and old friend Travis d’Arnaud got his own solo shot in the second. Brandon Lowe answered with a solo shot of his own in the top of the third.
After the back and forth, it was an exciting fourth after Randy was HBP and then Palacios and Siri walked, bringing up Ben Rortvedt. Braves rookie starter Waldrep, a Gator just a summer ago, had thrown one strike in his last ten pitches and attempted a slider next.
It met Rortvedt’s wheelhouse.
For a Rays team that has been a mess for the last week, this was a glimmer of hope that things could be getting back on track.
Eflin was cruising, and looked ready to escape the sixth inning until things got weird. With two outs, Matt Olson went golfing, getting a groundball on a curveball that looked ready to bounce off the plate. On the next pitch Austin Riley hit a liner on a two-seamer down the middle to make it two-on, two out.
Facing Adam Duvall, Eflin went with some weird sequencing after a swinging strike on a curve and a fouled sweeper. The next curveball missed the zone wide, so he tried it again, but four breaking balls in a row to Duvall was too much, and he lined it into left field to plate the Braves third run.
Palacios then got a hot shot toward third base and made an impressive diving stop, but then made an absolutely desperate air mail throw to first base that landed in the Braves dugout, resulting in the end of Eflin’s afternoon.
In the seventh Colin Poche took the mound, and the Braves were on base again as a one bounced on the dirt in front of Palacios and he couldn’t glove it. A double play cleared the runner and ended the frame.
Jason Adam got the call in the eighth for the heart of the Braves order. He started the inning with an Ozuna groundout, but after the fastball kept missing the zone, tried a change up away that Matt Olson doubled. This brought up Austin Riley was taking big swings, and eventually got a fastball down the middle, punishing it to center field.
Tie the ballgame.
But fear not. In the top of the ninth, Randy Arozarena worked an eight pitch walk, and then with one out Jose Siri barreled a change up below the zone to show he’s not the only one who brought his clubs, and with the wind blowing out to left field, this one carried into the stands for an 8-6 lead!
Pete Fairbanks got the call in the ninth, surprisingly walking the No. 8 hitter Orlando Arcia, and then turning to his fastball to overpower JP Martinez for a strikeout and to bring up the top of the order. A tapper to Palacios gave my heart palpitations as he shovel passed it to Rosario for a fielders choice at second base, but Fairbanks surprised Ozzie Albies with fastball away, slider down, slider away to baffle the No. 2 hitter and pick up his 10th save.
Game Notes
- This was Hurston Waldrep’s second career start, and his first at Truist Park. He was the Braves first round draft pick (24th overall) in 2023 out of UF.
- Waldrep was relieved after 10 outs and 6 earned runs, and later in the game came another rookie, hometown kid Grant Holmes. His family had a nice interview during the game. He went 3.0 innings with 2 Ks and 2 hits.
- Travis d’Arnaud caught Randy stealing to end the first inning.
- The Braves have a good luck teddybear!
- Eflin had seven strikeouts on the afternoon.
- Yandy Diaz is on a 19-game on-base streak.
- Your moment of zen: the field view of Rortvedt’s grand slam: