Monday, 4 a.m.
You can credit the bat of Yandy Diaz if you wish. After all, he had three hits and a home run.
You can credit the arm of Dennis Rasmussen, who had another strong start.
This one, however, belongs to pinch-runner Jose Caballero. He left the ballpark with a stolen game in his back pocket.
The Rays came from behind to beat the Marlins, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon. The big play came when Caballero, pinch-running for Yandy Diaz, stole third base in the eighth inning and scored on a shallow fly to center by Brandon Lowe.
Caballero’s steal was crucial. If he doesn’t take third, he can’t score on Lowe’s fly. Instead, he scored the winning run standing up. It was the 21st steal in this season for Caballero.
Diaz had doubled to start the uprising. It was his third hit of the game. The rest of the lineup had just three.
Rasmussen had his streak of 23 shutout innings snapped in the first inning and left trailing 2-0. But he went six innings and gave up just two runs. A two-run homer by Diaz in the fifth tied the game.
Edwin Uceta pitched the final two innings of hitless baseball to improve his record to 5-1.
The Rays now travel to Boston to play the Red Sox tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. Shane Baz will start for the Rays against Brayan Bello.