Rays Offense Hangs 14 Runs on Tigers to Take Game 1 of Big Series

The Tampa Bay Rays drew first blood against the best team in baseball, beating the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, 14-8.

Tampa Bay's offense wasted no time jumping on Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty, putting together a four-run first inning starting with a 409-foot solo shot to right-center field by designated hitter Yandy Diaz.

It didn't take long for Detroit to retaliate, as left-fielder Riley Greene clobbered a 432-foot three-run homer to center field off of Tampa Bay's Shane Baz in the third inning to cut the Rays lead to 4-3.

Kevin Cash's offense delivered an uppercut in response, scoring four more runs in the third inning in large part because of a three-run RBI double from shortstop Taylor Walls. Subsequently, Walls crossed home plate on a bunt from Kameron Misner to make it 8-3, eliciting a jubilant response from the sold-out crowd at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

After racking up eight earned runs, Flaherty's night ended after 2 1/3 innings.

"Flaherty's tough; he's been a good pitcher for a long time now," Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the game. "Really liked our at-bats; we were aggressive in the zone, got some traffic on the bases, and then some big hits followed."

Diaz delivered again in the fifth inning, sending another solo home run to right field to record the second multi-homer game of his career and the first since May 11, 2019. He also became the first Rays leadoff hitter with a multi-homer game since Brandon Lowe on Aug. 16, 2021.

Detroit's offense, led by Greene, produced multi-run frames in the sixth and ninth innings, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with Tampa Bay.

Every hitter in the Rays lineup registered a hit for the fifth time this season, while seven of nine batters scored at least one run. It's the third time this season Tampa Bay's offense has produced 14-plus runs in a game.