Rays happy to be home, show it with win vs. Nationals

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — Friday afternoon was filled with hugs and handshakes as a group of Washington Nationals players and staff who used to be with the Tampa Bay Rays returned to Tropicana Field, several for the first time with the visiting team.

But the Rays were much more excited about the high-fives afterward, as they celebrated a win for the first time in five days, beating Washington 5-2 in their return home after a rough road trip.

As bad as the Rays had been playing the last 3 1/2 weeks, losing 15 of their previous 22 games, they still have comfort in being under the tilted roof, where they improved their majors-best home record to 25-9.

Jonathan Aranda had the big hit, a three-run homer in the third inning, Taylor Walls knocked in a run in the fourth, and Jonny DeLuca homered in the eighth.

Griffin Jax gave the Rays a solid five-inning start, allowing two solo homers, and four relievers — an improved Steven Matz, Kevin Kelly, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker — took it from there.

The Nationals grabbed an early 2-0 lead.

CJ Abrams led off the second with a 412-foot shot to centerfield off Jax, and Luis Garcia knocked a ball just over the left-field fence with two outs in the third.

The Rays didn’t do much in the first two innings against lefty PJ Poulin, who stepped in as the opener when scheduled starter Cade Cavalli was stricken with food poisoning.

They did much better against veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas, who was bumped up from a scheduled Saturday start to working bulk innings Friday.

Hunter Feduccia drew a one-out walk in the third, and Yandy Diaz followed with a single. Aranda slapped an outside changeup on a line down the left-field line, and the ball struck the screen on the fair side of foul pole for a three-run homer.

That continued his recent hot streak against right-handed pitchers, going into play Friday hitting .356 (16f or 45) with three homers and six RBIs over his last 17 games.

The Rays made it 4-2 in the fourth when Richie Palacios doubled with one out and Walls followed with an RBI single.

Jonny DeLuca, reinstated from an injured list stint that coincided with the Rays’ skid, added to the lead with a solo homer in the eighth.

Nationals players Curtis Mead, Zack Littell and Richard Lovelady; manager Blake Butera; coaches Michael Johns, Bobby Wilson and Shawn O’Malley; and general manager Ani Kilambi all spent time in the Rays’ organization and had different feelings about coming back in a different uniform.

“It’s very weird,” Butera said before the game.

Mead, who spent 5 1/2 years in the Rays organization, including parts of three in the majors before being traded in July to the Chicago White Sox (who in late March designated him for assignment, then traded him to Washington), said there were a lot of different feelings in coming back to play at the Trop.

“I was excited at a new opportunity (in Chicago),” Mead said. “But I enjoyed my time with the Rays, enjoyed a lot of people — coaches, staff, and everyone — so there’s a range of emotions. But I’m really happy where I’ve ended up now."

Littell, who isn’t pitching in the series, said he was enjoying the opportunity to visit with former teammates and being back in the Tampa Bay area, having brought his family down. The Rays honored Littell, who pitched for them from May 2023 to July 2025, with a tribute video.

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