ST. PETERSBURG — Daniel Robertson and the Tampa Bay Rays snatched a win out of the jaws of defeat to swim away with a 6-4 win over the Miami Marlins in a battle of aquatic avatars at Tropicana Field on Sunday.
Robertson took a bite out of 1-0 four-seamer from Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough for a grand slam to left center to cap off a five-run, a come-from-behind win to spoil Miami’s hopes of a series sweep. Jake Bauers started things off with a double to right. Consecutive singles by C.J. Cron and Ji-Man Choi ported the first run of the frame.
A fielder’s choice by Mallex Smith and a walk by Willy Adames, chummed things up for the dramatic finish for the pinch-hitting Robertson. It was the eighth home run of the season for Robertson.
“That spot arose and (Robertson) was our best option,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He made us look very smart out there.”
“What’s going on right now? What an exciting game!”
Daniel Robertson talks after hitting the 1st walk-off grand slam in @RaysBaseball history. #RaysUp #MLB pic.twitter.com/bFebzjK8CE
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) July 22, 2018
The win snaps a three-game slide and puts the Rays one game over sea level but still within sight of the final Wild Card buoy at 9.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners.
Rays starter Chris Archer’s day looked like it was getting started off on the right fin, striking out the side in the top of the first. The waters got bloody in the second, however, as Miami went into a frenzy scoring. Justin Bour started things off with a single before Martin Prado took a nice bite out of a 2-0 fastball for a double.
Cameron Maybin got bit by a rogue fastball to load the bases for Miguel Rojas, who hammered an Archer four-seamer like a breaching great white on a seal for a double down the right field to clear the bases.
Bryan Holiday scavenged another run with an RBI single to land Rojas and make it a quick 4-0 lead for Miami. Archer escaped managed to keep swimming and ended up with one of his stronger starts of the season, putting up zeros over the final four frames for the elasmobranchs.
Archer scattered eight hits and allowed three earned runs over six total innings. His 13 strikeouts were the second most of his career and the most he’s ever had at home.
“Since I’ve been using my change-up more the damage has been less,” Archer said.
After a perfect inning from Ryne Stanek, Adam Kolarek picked up his first victory of the year after tossing two bloodless frames.
Carlos Gomez continued his summertime feast by going 2-for-4 — the only Rays player to have multiple hits on Sunday — to push his average to a season-best .221. Over his last 15 games, Gomez is batting .349 with a .472 on-base percentage.
When he isn’t a contributing his sports knowledge to The Scrum, J. Scott Butherus is the founder and executive editor of Sharkophile.com. As a veteran both in front of and behind the camera for Shark Week on Discovery Channel, he tends to get a little sharky in the brain this time of year. If you are a lover of all things shark as well, follow him on Twitter @Sharkophile.
