Following a walk-off home run from Junior Caminero to clinch the Tampa Bay Rays a spot in the playoffs on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays (89-59) ended Game 2 with a back-and forth win against the Houston Astros (75-74) at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
Rays starting pitcher Ian Seymour opened the game pitching to Astros third baseman Issac Paredes, who the Rays traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2024. The former Ray hit a homer on Seymour’s second pitch of the game to give the Astros an early 1-0 lead. Seymour did not let the quick mistake faze him, though, allowing just four hits and throwing 10 strikeouts through six innings of work.
Similarly to Game 1, Tampa Bay did not score until the fifth inning. With outfielders Victor Mesa Jr. on third and Chandler Simpson on second, Rays second baseman Richie Palacios singled a ball from starting pitcher Peter Lambert to center-field that brought both runners home for a 2-1 lead.
Houston fought back in the sixth when Jose Altuve reached home thanks a single from catcher Yainer Diaz to tie the score at 2-2.
Tampa Bay regained that lead the very next inning when Rays third baseman Nick Madrigal — pinch hitting for outfielder Cedric Mullins — hit a sacrifice fly sending catcher Kenny Piper — running for catcher Liam Hicks — to home. Madrigal’s contract was selected from Triple-A Durham on September 8.
The Rays nearly widened the score gap in the eighth. Tampa Bay loaded the bases off three walks from Astros pitcher Bryan King, but a ground out from Simpson squandered that chance.
Simpson (.306) and Rays hitter Yandy Diaz (.301) remain in second and third behind Astros hitter Yordan Alvarez (.310) in the American League batting title race. Alvarez has now missed both games of this series with a right ankle injury.
With the Rays only up 3-2, the Astros entered the ninth in great position to punish Tampa Bay. Bryan Baker, however, pitched three straight outs for his league-leading 40th save.
Tampa Bay remains four games atop American League East and American League. The Rays will attempt to close a potential fifteenth series sweep this season against the Astros on Sept. 13 at 1:40 p.m. EST.