Yandy Díaz leaves game with left shoulder strain

Rays manager Kevin Cash isn’t making any changes following a series-opening victory where Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer was enough for a nearly-flawless Drew Rasmussen, who took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Caminero, who is likely to finish near the top of AL MVP Award balloting, finished a phenomenal regular season with 42 home runs, reaching the lofty 40-homer plateau for the second straight season. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Chandler Simpson (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

Díaz doubled and singled twice in another excellent game in what has been another strong season for the 35-year-old. If he doesn’t play Sunday, he’ll finish 2026 with a .293/.359/.446 slash at the top of the Tampa Bay lineup.

Yandy Díaz is also getting a breather after the Rays wrapped up the AL East division title earlier this week at Yankee Stadium. The 25-year-old speedster has been on fire recently, hitting .322 (19-for-59) while piling up eight stolen bases over his last 15 games. He’s up to 46 steals on the year.

The singles were his only hits in nine at-bats today, but they were very well timed. He had gone hitless in six straight games entering the nightcap, dropping his average from .301 to .290. He’s hitting .249/.297/.385 in 61 games since the All-Star break.

It’s a scheduled off day for Díaz, according to Rays manager Kevin Cash. The 35-year-old on-base machine is hitting just .239 (16-for-67) with two homers since the start of September. It’ll be Jake Fraley bumping up to the leadoff spot in his absence to face Red Sox starter Brayan Bello.

The Rays swept the A’s anyway, but
Díaz went 0-for-13. He also managed just two singles in 13 at-bats in the previous series against the Astros. Díaz very much deserved to be an All-Star this year, but he’s been a below average DH since the beginning of July, hitting .253/.293/.392 in 309 plate appearances.

Díaz’ home run was his 22nd of the season. He hit a solo shot in the eighth inning. Díaz has two home runs and three RBI in seven games to begin September. He’s hitting .306 with an .847 OPS and 79 RBI.

As a team, the Rays collected just three hits in the ballgame, with Díaz accounting for two of them on his own. The 35-year-old has had another excellent season at the dish, slashing .303/.372/.468 with 21 homers and 76 RBI across 600 plate appearances.

Díaz’ home run was his 21st of the season. He hit a solo shot off Sean Manaea in the sixth inning. Díaz is having his typical season with a high average, some power and solid run totals. He’s hitting .302 with an .839 OPS and 76 RBI.

Díaz hit a solo homer off Padres starter Casey Mize in the bottom of the third inning to give the Rays their first run of the night. It was the 20th homer of the season for Díaz, who also singled in the fourth inning to drive in Taylor Walls and push the Rays’ lead to 6-0. Díaz has now hit 20 homers in back-to-back seasons and needs only six more homers to top his career high (25) set last season.