ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Diaz is back. The Rays first baseman, who had missed four games with a groin injury, returned to the lineup Saturday with a flourish.
The slugger hammered a 421-foot, three-run home run and had three hits to lead Tampa Bay to an 8-4 win over the Brewers in front of a crowd of 19,954 at Tropicana Field.
It was the second straight win for the Rays (34-13), who clinched the series against Milwaukee (24-21). Tampa Bay improved to 21-3 at Tropicana Field and joins the 1978 Red Sox as the only teams in the modern era (since 1900) to win 21 of their first 24 games at home to begin a season.
Zach Eflin gave the Rays seven solid innings, striking out eight. The Rays got homers from Diaz, Harold Ramirez and Christian Bethancourt.
The offense, which had scored three runs combined in their previous two games, feasted on the rare left-handed starter, Eric Lauer. The Rays had six hits and six runs on the Brewers lefty, including three homers. The Rays lead the majors in home runs with 90 and have hit 22 of those against left-handed pitchers this season. Tampa Bay has the second-best offense against lefties behind the Braves.
Diaz returned Saturday and picked up where he left off.
He smashed a 76-mph curveball that Lauer left belt high over the plate, 421 feet to dead center field in the second inning. It was his 11th home run of the season, and he extended his hitting streak to 13 games. In 2019, Diaz hit a career-high 14 home runs in 79 games.
The 31 year-old Cuba native is leading the majors in OPS (1.048). He also singled in the third and seventh innings.
Ramirez hit his seventh homer of the season in the first inning, his sixth of the year at Tropicana Field. Bethancourt hit his seventh in the fourth inning. Manuel Margot singled in a run in the fourth and Isaac Paredes and Taylor Walls drew back-to-back, bases-loaded walks in the seventh.
Eflin continued to dominate at home, where he had a 1.98 ERA as opposed to his 5.29 mark on the road. The right-hander remained undefeated at the Trop this season. He gave up a solo home run to Owen Miller in the third inning, snapping a scoreless streak after 23 innings for the Brewers, and a two-run homer to Brian Anderson in the fourth.
