Another opponent, another conquest. Rays are still coming out on top

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on May 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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There are a lot of ways to measure how well the Rays have played this season.

You can look at the rotation’s ERA. (It’s excellent.) You can ponder the effectiveness of small ball. (Outstanding.) You can marvel at the way they excel in one-run games. (Uncanny.)

Or you can simply point to this:

Sunday’s 6-3 victory against the Marlins in front of 16,788 at Tropicana Field was Tampa Bay’s seventh consecutive series win. It is the franchise’s longest streak of series victories in nearly 13 years, and it has kept the Rays atop the American League East for most of May.

Taylor Walls hit a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the fourth inning to erase a 2-1 Miami lead, and the Rays never looked back. Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz added solo homers, and starter Drew Rasmussen pitched into the sixth inning to boost his record to 4-1.

Things got a little tense in the eighth inning, when reliever Garrett Cleavinger allowed three hits and a walk to the first five batters he faced. But lefthander Ian Seymour came out of the bullpen to strike out Leo Jimenez with the bases loaded and got pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernandez to line out to Walls at shortstop.

If you think of the season as a bunch of minichallenges, the Rays have been remarkably consistent. They have won five of seven series at home and five of eight on the road. The last team to leave Tropicana Field with the upper hand was the Reds, who won two of three back on April 20-22.

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