Tampa Bay

Rays

Díaz greeted Red Sox lefty Connelly Early with a leadoff homer before tacking on a key insurance run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. It was his 12th long ball of the season. The 34-year-old on-base machine has put together one of the strongest stretches of his career recently, hitting .319 (37-for-116) with eight homers and 24 RBI over his last 30 games. He’s hitting .429 (12-for-28) over his last seven games alone.

Baker was summoned to guard a two-run advantage in the final frame and needed just 12 pitches (11 strikes) to get the job done. Things got interesting when Wilyer Abreu delivered a one-out single that brought the potential tying run to the plate. However, Baker managed to strike out Willson Contreras and coax a game-ending ground ball from Mickey Gasper to extinguish the threat. He’s the undisputed closer in Tampa Bay right now, having converted 17 of 20 save opportunities this season.

Seymour needed just 55 pitches to navigate four frames after entering Tampa Bay’s starting rotation in place of an ineffective Steven Matz. The 27-year-old lefty didn’t stick around long enough to qualify for a win, but he limited Boston’s offense to just a solo homer by Marcelo Mayer. He struck out five and only issued one walk. There’s some definite streaming appeal when he takes the ball against the Angels on Sunday.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Simpson will receive another full day off to address a lingering thumb bruise that he’s been dealing with since last week. The 25-year-old speedster is available off the bench. The hope is that the additional rest puts the ailment to bed. Austin Slater gets the nod in left field to face Red Sox lefty Connelly Early on Monday night with Simpson missing his third straight game.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash confirmed that DeLuca will be ready to return to game action later this week. The 27-year-old outfielder hit the injured list with a mild hamstring strain back in late May. He should make it back to Tampa Bay’s outfield mix at some point later next week.

Dunn was acquired from the White Sox on May 20th. He went 1-for-11 in nine games for the Rays, mostly serving as a defensive replacement. He’ll provide organizational depth in the minor leagues.

Slater signed a minor league deal on May 27 and hit .348 in six games at Triple-A. The 33-year-old has always done most of his damage against left-handed pitching, so he figures to fulfill a short-side platoon role when he arrives in Tampa Bay.

Jax had only thrown 62 pitches through five, but manager Kevin Cash decided to pull him anyway. His season high was 72 in his last start, a disastrous 6 ER performance against the Tigers. Perhaps that factored into Tampa Bay’s quick hook, but it backfired as reliever Garrett Cleavinger immediately gave up the lead in the sixth. Jax will remain on the streaming radar for his next start, which lines up on the road against the Angels.

Englert allowed one run over five innings in relief against the Tigers on Wednesday, throwing 82 pitches in the process. Ideally, he’ll end up in similar territory again tomorrow.

The 38-year-old right-hander threw a bullpen session on Saturday and noted that everything felt good. He’s expected to face live hitters for the first time in the coming days and may not require a minor league rehab assignment before rejoining the Rays’ bullpen.