ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, USA – Yandy Diaz hit one of six homers that tied a franchise record for the Tampa Bay Rays, who crushed the Minnesota Twins 11-4 on Saturday night.
The Cuban Diaz produced four runs, while the Dominican Wander Franco extended his run to 34 games by reaching base for the Rays, leaders of the American League East Division.
In the first inning, Diaz hit an RBI single. An inning later, he hit a three-run homer off Andrew Albers during a five-touchdown cluster that put the Rays ahead 7-0.
Franco edged out two Hall of Famers, Mel Ott and Arky Vaughan, with whom he shared the third-longest on-base streak by a player under 21, by hitting an RBI single in the first inning.
In his 20s, Franco was able to play after he passed Major League Baseball protocols on concussion. He abandoned Thursday’s game against Boston with a headache and was absent from Friday’s game against Minnesota.
Jordan Luplow, the Dominicans Manuel Margot and Nelson Cruz, the Cuban Randy Arozarena, as well as Brandon Lowe, also hit home runs for Tampa Bay, which increased to seven and a half games their lead over the New York Yankees in the East Division of the League. American.
Chris Archer (1-1) allowed four hits in five innings. He hadn’t won since June 6, 2019, when he was in Pittsburgh.
Albers (1-1) allowed nine runs and 10 hits, including four homers, over three innings.
For the Twins, Venezuelans Luis Arráez 5-0, Willians Astudillo 2-0. The Dominicans Jorge Polanco 4-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, Miguel Sanó 2-1 with one run scored and one RBI.
For the Rays, the Cubans Arozarena 4-3 with three runs scored and one RBI, Diaz 4-2 with one run scored and four RBIs. The Dominicans Franco 5-2 with two runs scored and one RBI, Cruz 4-1 with two runs and one produced, Margot 4-1 with one run and one RBI.
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