Heading into Saturday’s matchup winners of four games in a row, the Tampa Bay Rays were looking to make it five straight. Saturday was especially meaningful for the team, as franchise icon Evan Longoria officially retired as a Ray. He also threw out the first pitch in front of a packed house. Unfortunately, the team lost an 11-10 slugfest to the Miami Marlins. Despite the loss, OptaStats reported that the team broke an MLB record involving their starting 7-8-9 hitters on X, formerly Twitter.
Today @RaysBaseball became the first team in MLB history to have their starting 7-8-9 hitters each have multiple extra-base hits including a home run in the same game:
Christopher Morel: 2B, 2 HR
Danny Jansen: 2B, HR
Taylor Walls: 2B, HR pic.twitter.com/tDgulDmjuu— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 8, 2025
“Today @RaysBaseball became the first team in MLB history to have their starting 7-8-9 hitters each have multiple extra-base hits including a home run in the same game: Christopher Morel: 2B, 2 HR Danny Jansen: 2B, HR Taylor Walls: 2B, HR,” posted the sports statistics account on the social media platform.
At the moment, the Rays are third in the AL East, five and a half games behind the division-leading New York Yankees. A win on Sunday in the finale against the Marlins will at least help them maintain their standing, as they are looking to return to the postseason. It would also lead to the two Florida rivals finishing their six-game season series tied at three wins a piece. Morel, Jansen and Walls each having a great game highlights the volatility of the Tampa Bay lineup. Can their recent improved offensive output lead to a rise in the standings?
With Evan Longoria behind them, Rays offense explodes in Saturday loss
Even with the efforts of Morel, Jansen and Walls, Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez (a former Rays prospect himself) had the best performance on the afternoon. He had a three-run home run and a two-run double, showing up the team that helped develop him. The Marlins’ win also stopped a five-game skid, so each team reversed their recent fortune on Saturday.
It’s likely that at least one of the trio will be back in the lineup tomorrow as the series finale takes place. While all three players aren’t having the best offensive seasons (Morel has the highest batting average of the three with a .222 mark), if they can use Saturday’s performance to catapult themselves to a higher level, then the Rays’ chances of returning to October become much brighter.
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