Rays cycle through bullpen to seal series over Rangers

Abby DiSalvo, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 30, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thursday’s rubber match between the Rays and the Rangers quickly escalated into a battle of bullpens. Shane McClanahan pitched only 3 2/3 scoreless innings before leaving the game with mid-back tightness, and the teams called a combined 10 relievers to the mound over the course of the game.

Casey Legumina, Cam Booser, Craig Kimbrel, Steven Matz, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker all toed the rubber for the Rays, giving up just two hits and one run between them. Though relief pitchers have been a hypothetical target for the Rays ahead of Sunday’s trade deadline, Tampa Bay’s bullpen helped it to a 3-2 win Thursday.

With two outs, a 2-2 count and a Ranger in scoring position, Matz delivered a key seventh-inning strikeout. Cleavinger kept the Rangers at bay in the eighth with two more. Baker finished the game by converting his 30th consecutive save in a 30-pitch inning.

The Rays kept themselves afloat offensively with the efforts of two unlikely heroes: Hunter Feduccia and Jonny DeLuca.

Feduccia got Tampa Bay on the board in the third inning, hitting a high-flying double and crossing home plate with the help of a Yandy Diaz single. After the Rangers tied the score in the fourth and went ahead in the fifth, DeLuca blasted a home run over the left-field wall to knot it again, 2-2.

Cedric Mullins did the final honors, putting the Rays in position for the win with an eighth-inning home run.

Though they only scored three runs, the Rays managed to keep a carousel of offensive action rolling throughout the game. They left two runners on base in the third inning and failed to convert a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth, at times leading to disappointed sighs from gaggles of summer camp kids in the stands.

For all the chaos, Thursday’s game saw a few milestones for each teams’ pitching staff. McClanahan made his 50th career start at Tropicana Field, and the Rangers’ Cole Winn made his first start in the majors.

It was also the 10th straight game a Tampa Bay starter allowed two or fewer runs. With the win, the Rays reached 20 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2023 season, when they ultimately finished with a 99-23 record.