Stat of the Day: Worth the wait

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Rays this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

o Rays Stat of the Day, July 2021

Aug. 8: Rays 9, Orioles 6 — Good things to those who wait
The Rays have scored a Major League-leading 215 runs in the seventh inning or later this season. They have outscored their opponents 41-8 in the seventh or later in 10 road games since the All-Star break.

Aug. 7: Rays 12, Orioles 3 — Slammin’ Brandon
Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam off the left-field foul pole off Orioles reliever Cesar Valdez in the eighth inning. It was the second grand slam by Lowe on the season and fifth for the Rays. Lowe also leads the team with 24 homers.

Aug. 6: Rays 10, Orioles 6 — Yandy’s hot shot
Since his debut in 2017, Yandy Diaz has made consistent hard contact — for example, during his at-bat in the sixth inning. Diaz smacked a 113.5 mph groundout off Orioles reliever Conner Greene, his hardest-hit ball of the season and second hardest of his career. On May 11, 2019, he smacked a home run that left his bat at 114.3 mph.

Aug. 4: Rays 4, Mariners 3 — Randy’s heating up
Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a two-run triple and a double. He has reached base safely in 13 of his last 14 games and recorded multiple hits in 10 of those contests. Overall during that 14-game stretch, he’s hit .404/.443/.842 with 12 extra-base hits (six homers, five doubles and a triple) while putting together three games with multiple extra-base hits. Arozarena’s two-run triple in this game gave the Rays a lead, and 18 of his 52 RBIs this season have either tied games or put Tampa Bay ahead. The Rays know what the postseason hero can do when he gets rolling, so perhaps this is just the start of a long tear.

“We were hoping that he can get hot, and we know what he can do when he’s really hot,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Hopefully he can find that rhythm there and just continue for the next couple weeks and maybe two months. Whatever it takes. He’s such a big part of our offense.”

Aug. 3: Mariners 4, Rays 2 — Little luck vs. lefties
The Rays fell to 24-20 on the season against left-handed starters, compared 40-24 against right-handers. Tampa Bay has been one of the Majors’ least productive clubs against left-handed pitchers this season, hitting just .226/.303/.378, while having more at-bats against southpaws (1,327) than any other team in baseball.

Aug. 2: Mariners 8, Rays 2 — Mariners a mystery to Rays
The Rays’ loss on Monday night dropped them to 1-7 against the Mariners since Aug. 19, 2019, and 6-15 against them at Tropicana Field since 2014 — their worst home record against any team (minimum five games) during that stretch. Tampa Bay is 0-5 against Seattle this season, a big factor in the club’s 13-16 record against the American League West. Against non-AL West opponents, the Rays are 51-26.

Aug. 1: Rays 3, Red Sox 2 — High-stakes sweep
By taking three straight against the Red Sox over the weekend, the Rays completed their eighth sweep of three games or more this season, most in the American League and tied with the Brewers for most in the Majors. Tampa Bay swept Boston in a series of three games or more for the 10th time in franchise history. Additionally, the Rays handed the Red Sox just their second sweep of the season — their first since a season-opening series sweep against the Orioles from April 2-4. The Rays have now won five in a row against the Red Sox after losing their first four matchups this season, using the last three to gain a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL East.