Don’t waste it all before the games actually count.
The Tampa Bay Rays have played American League East foe Baltimore twice this spring and exploded at the plate on both occasions. For the second time in three days, Rays hitters battered Orioles pitching for identical box score totals of 10 runs and 17 hits.
Baltimore’s split squad Saturday didn’t go over so well at home in Sarasota against Tampa Bay or on the road in Fort Myers against Minnesota. The Orioles were dropped 10-6 by the Rays and 13-2 by the Twins.
Tampa Bay didn’t add to its team home run total of two Saturday but six of its 17 hits went for extra bases. Kevin Kiermaier recorded one of those with a fifth-inning triple and boosted his spring average to .444 by going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored.
Catcher Curt Casali joined the Rays’ rangy center fielder with three hits, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, run and three RBIs.
Tampa Bay also got two-baggers from rookie corner infielder Richie Shaffer, shortstop Brad Miller, second baseman Logan Forsythe and non-roster invitee Patrick Leonard.
The Rays recorded nine hits in both of their two other games this spring, losses to Washington and Boston. Saturday’s 17-hit outburst pushed Tampa Bay’s team batting average up to a gaudy .331 (52-for-157).
Leading the Rays with four hits apiece are Casali, Kiermaier, Miller and left fielder Brandon Guyer. The latter is tied with fellow left fielder Desmond Jennings for the team lead in RBIs, with four.
Tampa Bay batters feasting on Orioles pitching get two more opportunities to hack away this spring March 19 and 20. It’s during the 19 regular season games where fans want to see similar results, though. The first of those six series takes place in Baltimore from April 8-10 after the Rays open their season with a four-game home set against fellow AL East opponent Toronto.
Eric Horchy is a staff writer with OutsidePitchMLB.com. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter: @EricHorchy
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