Thursday, 4 a.m.
It wasn't overwhelming. Heck, it wasn't even easy.
But the Tampa Bay Rays, finally, beat the Seattle Mariners Wednesday.
Yippee.
After six straight losses, the Rays squeaked a 4-3 win out over Seattle in an afternoon game, getting just enough (five hits) to remain in first place in the American League East. A two-run triple by Randy Arozarena and a home run by Mike Zunino paced the Rays.
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"Better than seven straight losses," joked Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "We got a really good start from Flem (Josh Fleming). The bullpen did some pretty special things. It was a better day defensively for us."
The Rays had struggled all season against the Mariners, a good-but-not-great opponent from the west. But Fleming gave up two earned runs in his five innings, and the relief trio of J.T. Chargois, Matt Wisler and Ryan Sherriff made it stand up.
Arozarena is hitting .404 with six home runs in his last 14 games.
“He’s swung the bat well," Cash said. "We were hoping he could get hot. We know what he can do when he’s really hot. Hopefully he can continue it for a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of months. He’s such a big part of our offense."
It was Zunino's 21st home run of the season.
“I felt like it's trending in the right direction:" Zunino said. "I made a couple of good swings against (Logan) Gilbert. I've been working with (hitting coach Chad) Mottolo. To see it translate is nice."
The Rays are off today, then travel to Baltimore, a team the Rays are 8-1 against. Ryan Yarbrough will start for the Rays in Friday night's 7:05 p.m. game.