After rough debut, Cedric Mullins comes up big for Rays

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on May 15, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — He was, arguably, baseball’s worst hitter over the first month of the season.

Cedric Mullins may have been the most accomplished bat added to Tampa Bay’s lineup in the offseason, but the former All-Star produced more doubts than doubles in his early days in a Rays uniform.

Of the 169 hitters with at least 100 plate appearances through April, Mullins had the lowest batting average (.126) in the majors and had four times as many strikeouts (22) as walks (five). His struggles with the Mets late last season were beginning to look more like a trend than an aberration.

And yet, Mullins never sulked. Never allowed his struggles at the plate to affect his defense in center field. He spent extra time in the batting cage, including before Friday night’s game when he was on the field with assistant hitting coach Ozzie Timmons more than four hours before the first pitch.

The result?

Mullins had his best night at the plate with the Rays, dropping two bunt singles, blasting a home run to right, singling again in the eighth, stealing a base and scoring three runs in Friday’s 7-2 victory against the Marlins before an announced crowd of 14,919 at Tropicana Field.

It was the most dramatic indication that Mullins might be pulling out of his funk, but it was not the first clue. His four-hit night boosted his batting average in May to .306. And, after posting a strikeout rate of 20.1% early in the season, he has just two punchouts in his last 26 plate appearances.

Mullins wasn’t the only standout for the Rays on the first night of a six-game homestand. Yandy Diaz hit his sixth homer in the first inning to give the Rays a lead they never relinquished, and bulk pitcher Jesse Scholtens came behind opener Ian Seymour with five innings of one-run ball for his fourth win of the season.