Rays Designated Hitter Yandy Diaz Puts Bow on Epic June With Latest Hit

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz produced a June to remember.

After reaching on an infield single in the bottom of the eighth inning in Monday's 6-4 series-opening loss against the Athletics, Diaz capped off the month with a .400 batting average, going 40-for-100. He joins Fred McGriff (.422 average in July 1999) and Matt Joyce (.414 average in May 2011) as the only Rays players in history with the accomplishment.

Diaz slashed .400/.469/.610 in June with four doubles, a triple, five home runs and 13 RBIs. His OPS was 1.019, eighth best in baseball with hitters over 75 at-bats for the month.

The 33-year-old has produced 14 multi-hit games during a 23-game on-base streak, with eight of those games coming in his last 11. His on-base streak the second-longest active stretch in baseball behind Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson. It's also the second-longest streak of Diaz's nine-year career, trailing a 29-game streak from May 26 to June 28, 2024.

Additionally, Diaz is batting .375 or better against all three pitch categories in June. He's hitting fastballs at a .429 clip (21-for-49), with breaking pitches at .379 (11-for-29) and offspeed pitches at .375 (6-for-16).

"Constant, consistent, I mean he's a special hitter, there's no doubt," Rays manager Kevin Cash said about Diaz's successful month. "To win a batting title (in 2023), I think that was the first batting title ever for the Rays, and to do what he's done this month, really his entire career as a Tampa Bay Ray is pretty spectacular.

"I know he's riding the high right now, seeing the ball well and getting a lot of hits, so congrats to Yandy for sure."

Diaz hit .400 in June after hitting just .224 in May and .254 in March/April. His average for the season is up to .291 now, which is quite a jump from the .233 mark he was sitting at on May 30.

"We never worried about Yandy because even when he wasn't getting results, he was hitting the ball hard,'' shortstop Taylor Walls said. "It was just a matter of time when balls would start to fall.

"But he's also hitting with power again, too. He's got, what, 13 homers now? And those are fun to watch. No one gets a ball out of the yard faster than Yandy does, it seems like. ''