HOUSTON -- With their lineup firing on all cylinders and the entire pitching staff shutting down opposing batters, everyone has played a part in the Rays’ current hot streak.
But Zack Littell handled matters on the mound on his own Saturday afternoon.
Littell fired Tampa Bay’s first complete game since Ryan Yarbrough went the distance on June 3, 2021, and all nine batters in the Rays’ starting lineup picked up at least one hit in a 16-3 win over the Astros at Daikin Park.
It was a day for the franchise record books and a perfect example of how it’s all coming together for the Rays (30-28) right now. They’ve won nine of their past 11 games and outscored their competition by 52 runs (74-22) during that stretch.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Littell, whose last complete games were of the five- and seven-inning variety for High-A Tampa in the Yankees’ system in 2017. “Extremely grateful to just watch those guys go out there and do it and then to free you up to go out there and just pound the zone.”
Littell held Houston to three runs, all on a pair of Jeremy Peña home runs, while throwing 117 pitches (83 strikes) in his first MLB complete game. As a team, the Rays haven’t allowed more than four runs in a game since May 18 in Miami. During this 9-3 stretch, the rotation has put together a 2.00 ERA.
Littell’s nine-inning effort ended Tampa Bay’s 647-game streak without a complete game; that was the second-longest streak in the Majors since at least 1901 … behind the Rays’ 731-game streak from May 15, 2016 (Matt Andriese) to June 2, 2021.
Littell threw the most pitches by a Ray since Jake Odorizzi fired 118 on May 27, 2017. It was the highest pitch count in a Tampa Bay complete game since David Price (118) on Sept. 30, 2013. After Littell allowed two singles and a walk in the ninth, manager Kevin Cash said Brendan Rodgers would be the righty’s last batter.
“It would have been unfortunate, just given the way a couple of those hits got on,” Cash said. “But we really wanted him [to finish it].”
So did Littell. After Mauricio Dubon reached on a two-out infield single, Littell said he directed some “good, hard eye contact” in Cash’s direction. He then struck out Rodgers on four pitches.
“A complete game's something that you kind of dream about,” he said. “Super proud of it. A lot of credit has to go to the offense to be able to go out there and just fill the zone out there late in the game and get that pitch count back under control.”
Shrugging off the complete-game gem that Framber Valdez pitched against the club Friday night, Tampa Bay's lineup slugged its way past Houston on Saturday.
Junior Caminero led the way with a career-high four hits in his first career multihomer game. Josh Lowe and Yandy Díaz both went deep while having three-hit games as the Rays pounded out 18 hits, their most in a game since Aug. 19, 2023. It was the club’s first five-homer game since April 29, 2023, and their 12 extra-base hits tied the single-game franchise record set on June 16, 2009, at Colorado.
It was the fourth time in Tampa Bay’s past six games that all nine starters recorded a hit. To put that in context: The Yankees are the only other team with four such games so far this season, and the Rays only had four all of last year.
“Guys are seeing the ball well. They're not expanding out of the zone. When they're getting pitches to hit, they're hitting it hard,” Cash said. “It is kind of a byproduct of everything going really well for us offensively.”
After driving in a career-high six runs in Thursday’s series opener, Caminero blasted a three-run shot to right off Forrest Whitley in the eighth and became the first player in franchise history to have at least four extra-base hits (two homers, two doubles) and at least five RBIs in the same game.
“It feels very good. You guys are seeing, and I'm seeing, the Junior that everybody wants to see,” Caminero said through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “I'm going to continue to work hard.”
As if there wasn’t enough for the Rays to celebrate, from Littell’s complete game to Caminero’s powerful performance to their overall dominance, Jake Mangum hit his first Major League home run in his second game back from the injured list.
“That was really cool. It's a day I'll never forget. I don't hit many of them, so it might be my last ever,” Mangum said, grinning. “I just blacked out a little bit. Didn't really know what to do with my hands.”
Making the moment more special, Mangum got the ball he hit out from a Rays fan who caught it -- and immediately gave it to his mom for safekeeping, as his parents flew to Houston as soon as they heard he was rejoining the big league club.
“Just happy to be able to celebrate with the guys. It was a great team win,” Mangum said. “When you put up that many runs and you have a pitcher go complete game, it's really cool.”