Rays complete epic series win over Diamondbacks with 2 extra inning victories

The Tampa Bay Rays were a lackluster 9-13 as they limped into the desert to face off against a formidable NL West opponent in the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had not only lost 5 of 7 against divisional foes, but they weren't scoring runs.... at all. Over the last six games prior to the D-Backs series, Tampa Bay hitters produced a total of 17 runs and that amount was only reasonable due to a 10-run outburst in their lone win against the Yankees. In fact, the Rays were shutout three times in those six contests. Therefore, Rays fans were understandably nervous heading into this difficult West Coast road trip.

This ever-important rebound series turned out to be a great success. The Rays battled the last two games to shock the NL West club and take the series 2-1. In game one, the Diamondbacks defeated the Rays 5-1. Despite Tampa scoring first on a Jake Mangum RBI single, Arizona scored five unanswered runs led by a few home runs from Pavin Smith and Tim Tawa.

In the second game of the interleague series, the Rays fell behind early on a Corbin Carroll solo blast. The swift leadoff hitter is off to a remarkable start to the 2025 season as he's hitting .321 with an NL-leading nine homers. Nevertheless, the relentless nature of the Rays shined through in the 24th contest of the season. Every time the Diamondbacks took the lead, the Rays would crawl right back. These comebacks are highlighted by Yandy Diaz's huge go-ahead single in the top of the 7th inning.

However, Arizona would retake the lead on Carroll's second home run of the game. In the top of the 8th, beloved newcomer Chandler Simpson singled in the Rays' third game-tying run of the exhibition. This back-and-forth affair would finally come to fruition in the 11th inning when Kameron Misner drove in a run with a clutch double and scored a few batters later to make it 7-5 Rays.

The rubber match was no less exciting as the Rays appeared to be equally balanced. Rays hitters had to come from behind once more as they executed their fifth comeback win of the young season. After starting the game in a 3-0 hole, Tampa Bay scored for the first time in the 5th inning, when Jose Caballero hit a clutch two-out RBI double off of D-Backs ace Corbin Burnes.

In the 6th inning, the Rays crawled back even closer with Junior Caminero's RBI fielder's choice and Christopher Morel's RBI double down the third base line. Morel went 4-for-10 with 4 RBIs against the NL West opponent throughout the series as he improved his OPS to .904 at Chase Field.

This series wouldn't have been much fun without a little drama, so the Rays waited until they had two out remaining in the 9th inning to tie the game up at four a piece. Yandy Diaz drove in the run with his sixth hit in the last two games.

In the second extra innings in as many days, Junior Caminero and Christopher Morel led the way once again with an RBI double and a homer run respectively. The offense came to life late and the Rays improved to 3-0 in extra-inning contests. Hopefully, this trend continues as they look to climb back into contention in a scuffling AL East division.