Rays lead early, rally late and then hang on to beat Brewers

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 30, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — The Tampa Bay Rays did a lot of good things on Monday that led to a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers:

— Yandy Diaz hit a leadoff homer as part of another multi-hit night.

— Nick Martinez became the latest veteran to show a bad spring training doesn’t mean much, delivering a solid six-inning outing.

— Jonny DeLuca hit a tying homer in the seventh inning, then drew a two-out walk in the ninth and scored on a Nick Fortes double for the eventual winning run.

— And Ian Seymour and Kevin Kelly combined to get the final three outs as the Rays improved to 2-2.

The Rays took a 1-0 lead five pitches into the game when Diaz drove a changeup from Milwaukee starter Kyle Harrison over the left-field fence.

That was Diaz’s 22nd career lead-off homer, extending his franchise record, and also his 100th overall homer since joining the Rays for the 2019 season. Only seven players hit more as Rays; Diaz had been tied with Hall of Famer Fred McGriff.

Martinez looked nothing like the pitcher who struggled through spring training with a 14.49 ERA and everything like the veteran the Rays signed to a one-year, team-high $13 million deal to provide leadership to their staff and carry a heavy workload.

Over the first five innings, Martinez allowed three hits and no runs. The Rays left him in for the sixth, but that didn’t go too well.

Martinez allowed a double to Brice Turang leading off, and then on the next pitch — a 92.7-mph fastball — a home run by William Contreras that went 415 feet.

The Rays got right back to even, as DeLuca crushed a homer off reliever Aaron Ashby to open the seventh, the ball coming off his bat at 109 mph and carrying 438 feet, the furthest ball he has hit in the majors and one of the hardest.

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