ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Vilade hit a three-run homer, Ben Williamson posted a career-best four hits and Jonathan Aranda had three more and an RBI to give Tampa Bay a 6-1 win over Seattle on Saturday afternoon.
Vilade’s line drive off Gabe Speier broke open a 2-1 game with two out in the seventh, scoring Aranda and Junior Caminero. The first pinch-hit homer of Vilade’s career, it came after Seattle intentionally walked Caminero.
Williamson,
drafted by the Mariners in 2023 and traded to Tampa Bay in February, knotted the game in the second with a double that scored Chandler Simpson from first. Williamson then scored an insurance run in the eighth as the Rays handed Seattle its fifth straight loss, tying a season high.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, padded the American League’s best record to remain four games in front of the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Back-to-back doubles in the third, including a gapper from Aranda to plate Yandy Díaz, gave the Rays their first lead, 2-1.
Seattle held a 1-0 advantage when Cole Young scored on Colt Emerson’s second-inning sac fly. But the Mariners never saw another runner reach third base as Garrett Jax (5-6) and the three Rays relievers combined to retire 19 of the final 23.
The Mariners were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and are 0 for 20 in their last three games.
Evan Longoria was inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony, which delayed the first pitch by 25 minutes. The event drew 22,597, Tropicana Field’s highest attendance since Tampa Bay beat the Cubs in the April 6 home opener. The franchise will retire Longoria’s No. 3 on Sunday.
Logan Gilbert (7-6) fanned Jonny DeLuca in the second to become the fifth ever to reach 1,000 strikeouts in a Mariners uniform.
LHP Ian Seymour (6-1, 4.11 ERA) gets the nod for Tampa Bay in the series finale on Sunday against Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (6-4, 3.23).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
