Ryan Vilade homers, Ben Williamson posts 4 hits as Rays beat Mariners

Nicolas Villamil, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 11, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With their second straight win, the Rays earned a series victory over the Seattle Mariners Saturday afternoon with a 6-1 win at Tropicana Field.

Griffin Jax, who entered the game boasting a 2.89 ERA since moving from the bullpen into a starting role, continued to thrive in his reimagined role, allowing only one run over five innings of work.

Ben Williamson, who started at shortstop while Taylor Walls was given a day off, started the scoring with an RBI double in the second. Chandler Simpson, who had singled, sped his way home from first. Williamson added three singles and a stolen base.

After Yandy Diaz drove a ball to deep left-center field for a double to lead off the third, Jonathan Aranda followed suit with a double of his own to give the Rays a 2-1 lead.

Reliever Cam Booser provided two scoreless innings in relief of Jax.

Ryan Vilade, pinch hitting for Cedric Mullins in the seventh, blasted a three-run home run, the first pinch-hit homer of his career, to balloon the Rays’ lead to 5-1.

Williamson scored Tampa Bay’s final run on a throwing error by Seattle reliever Michael Rucker in the eighth.