Yandy

Díaz

Díaz’ home run was his 16th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Jacob Lopez in the first inning. He also scored on Junior Caminero’s home run and had a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Díaz is hitting .302 with an .835 OPS and 67 RBI.

Díaz had two of the four hardest-hit balls of the day, but none of the five balls he put in play today had a launch angle over 11 degrees. That’s par for the course, but it’s been another solid year for Díaz, who also now has 65 RBI and 63 runs scored thanks to Tampa Bay’s surprise season.

Seems like a routine day off for Díaz. Liam Hicks will play first base and Jonathan Aranda will DH. Victor Mesa Jr. will shift into the leadoff spot.

Díaz homered on the first pitch of the ballgame from Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, sending an opposite-field blast into the right-field seats for his 15th round-tripper of the season. The Rays were held to just one baserunner over the final eight innings of this low-scoring affair, but amazingly still managed to emerge victorious.

Díaz led off the bottom of the first with a base hit, then doubled in the fifth before scoring the team’s first run on a double by Junior Caminero. The 34-year-old slugger remains one of the best pure hitters around, slashing .306/.381/.465 with 14 homers, 57 runs scored, and 61 RBI across 441 plate appearances.

He knocked in the only run the Rays would manage against Shane Bieber with a soft liner to right field that Yohendrick Piñango perhaps should have caught. Díaz has slumped of late, hitting .242/.265/.364 over this past 15 games, but is hitting .307/.382/.467 on the season with 14 homers and two stolen bases in 98 games.

Díaz’s home run came in garbage time, but it counts the same for fantasy managers. The 34-year-old on-base machine took veteran southpaw Patrick Corbin deep for a 418-foot moonshot to straightaway center field in the ninth inning, putting the finishing touches on a lopsided win north of the border. He’s up to 14 home runs through 96 games and remains on pace to surpass last year’s career-high total of 25.

The veteran DH comfortably leads the American League with a .327 average this season, despite a slow start to July. Díaz notably popped 18 of his 25 homers at Steinbrenner Field last season, leading some to believe his performance was a product of the minor-league park. He’s been even better as a 34-year-old, though. His 154 wRC+ through Wednesday’s action would be the second-highest mark of his career.

Díaz extended Tampa Bay’s early lead with an RBI single in the second inning before smashing his 13th round-tripper of the season off Yankees starter Will Warren in the fourth. It was his first time leaving the yard since June 8. The 34-year-old on-base machine has looked a bit off since dealing with a shoulder issue a couple weeks ago. It certainly feels like he’ll benefit from some extra rest during the upcoming All-Star break.

Díaz will take a break against tough right-hander Hunter Brown for Saturday’s game. Ryan Vilade will get the start at first base and hit cleanup in Díaz’s absence