Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena look like themselves as Rays beat Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG — This was the way the Rays drew it up.

Yandy Diaz had his first three-hit game and home run since opening day, Randy Arozarena had his first multi-hit game since March 30, and the Rays finally looked like the themselves Saturday, beating the Yankees 7-2 in front of an announced 21,308 at Tropicana Field.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Rays (20-20) and got them back to .500 for the season. The five-run margin of victory was their largest over the Yankees (26-15) at Tropicana Field since a 9-0 shutout on Sept. 2, 2022.

After more than a month of injuries and struggles to open the season, the performance was like a throwback to the Rays teams of the past.

“Absolutely,” Diaz said through team interpreter Manny Navarro. “Every team has its bad moments. It looks like we’re coming back to the good moments, and we need to take advantage of that.”

The nine-game homestand that ends Sunday could be the start of something good for the Rays.

After returning from a 1-5 road trip to Chicago and Milwaukee that included being swept by the MLB-worst White Sox, the Rays are 6-2 heading into the final game of the homestand. Along the way, they got two important offensive players back from the injured list in Jonny DeLuca and Josh Lowe.

Saturday, the lineup started to produce as the team envisioned when it was put together over the winter, with Diaz and Arozarena powering it. They combined for five hits and six RBIs.

“Well, it’s a different offense, obviously, as we can see when those two guys are contributing at the level that they’re capable of,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Diaz, who opened the season with a home run in his first at-bat, had gone 37 games and 166 plate appearances before his next. It was the fourth-longest home run drought of his career. He jumped on Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes’ first pitch of the day.

“He’s the type of guy I like trying to be aggressive with,” Diaz said. “He’s the type of pitcher that attacks batters early. And so I was just trying to take advantage and be aggressive early.”

The Rays were aggressive all day against Cortes, who they chased in the sixth inning after reaching him for four runs on five hits and three walks, and the other Yankees pitchers.

With Tampa Bay trailing 2-1, Jose Siri led off the third with his first walk in 19 games. Diaz doubled to put both runners in scoring position, and Arozarena brought them home with his seventh home run of the season.

Arozarena doubled home another run in the seventh to snap a career-long drought of 35 games without a multi-hit game. His last eight hits have been for extra bases, including four home runs during the homestand.

“I’m starting to feel a little bit better,” Arozarena said via Navarro. “It has been a long time since the beginning of the year, since I’ve gotten multiple hits. I’m definitely starting to feel a little bit better. Thank God.”

For the Rays, whose dismal .351 slugging percentage in April was better than only the White Sox in the American League, seeing Diaz and Arozarena — the engine of their offense — start to kick into gear is a good sign. Their six extra-base hits Saturday were their most of the season.

While they have scored more runs in games this season, Saturday was the best the lineup has looked as a whole because it is designed around Diaz and Arozarena.

“We’re built to have Yandy and Randy do a lot of good,” Cash said.

When their offense is clicking, it affects the Rays’ overall game, including the pitching staff.

“It takes a ton of pressure off,” starter Zack Littell said. “I mean, Amed (Rosario), Richie (Palacios) and Ben (Rortvedt) have been putting together some nice at-bats, but to have those two guys (Diaz and Arozarena) starting to get going, it makes our lineup better.”

It allowed Littell to settle in after he gave up his first walk in 29 innings (since April 10) and allowed two runs in the second inning. He went 5⅔, allowing just those runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three.

“That’s the lineup we’re used to seeing,” Littell said. “We grind some at-bats and we get runners on base, and then make them pay.”

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