Jonathan

Aranda

Aranda drew a walk in the third inning, then took Jose Cabrera deep for a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Rays the lead. Aranda would reach for a third time with a walk in the seventh. The 28-year-old first baseman is having a solid season, hitting .289/.391/.470 with 13 homers, 42 runs scored, and 57 RBI across 345 plate appearances.

Aranda has hit in nine straight games and driven in a run in three in a row. He’s 10th in the majors with his 54 RBI on the season.

Aranda came up big for the Rays in the third inning. He stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second and got just enough of a Miles Mikolas changeup to slice it down the left field line and bounce it off the foul pole for a 313-foot homer, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead. It was the 12th homer of the season for Aranda, who continues to put together a career year in his fifth big league season.

Most likely, if a Rays first baseman/DH is going to make the All-Star team, it’ll be Yandy Díaz. Aranda, though, has a case; he’s tied for the 11th in the majors with his 48 RBI, and he’s 21st with his .377 OBP. Interestingly, he’s come in at .376 there against lefties, but all of his power has come versus righties; he’s slugging .503 against them and .329 versus lefties.

Aranda has been a constant for Tampa Bay in 2026, but the 28-year-old will get a rare breather against southpaw Payton Tolle on Tuesday. Ryan Vilade will get the start at first base and hit cleanup while Aranda rests.

Aranda’s homer was his 11th this year. Formerly a platoon bat, he’s morphed into one of Tampa Bay’s primary everyday hitters in 2026. The 28-year-old greatly improved his walk rate from a season ago, helping him maintain an OBP north of .390 as May comes to a close.

Aranda extended his on-base streak to eight games with another solid showing. Ironically, he had two of the four hardest hits in a game which his Rays lost 11-2. Those are the breaks sometimes. On the season, he has a .286 batting average, .860 OPS, nine home runs, and 41 RBI in a tremendous encore to his breakout last season.

Aranda helped the Rays take a 1-0 lead in the first inning when he drove in Chandler Simpson with one of his three singles. It was his 41st RBI, which leads the league. Aranda is hitting .278 with an .847 OPS. He seems poised to make his second All-Star team this year.

Aranda has been one of the more impactful middle-of-the-order run producers this season with a whopping 32 RBI through 40 contests. The 27-year-old first baseman delievered a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single before taking Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman deep in the fifth inning for his eighth round-tripper of the year. He’s been on fire recently, hitting .346 (18-for-52) with two homers and 11 RBI over his last 15 games.

Aranda started against each of the other four southpaws that the Rays faced this week, but he’ll grab a seat on the bench for Sunday’s series finale against Payton Tolle. Ryan Vilade will start in his place at first base and will bat fifth for the Rays on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.