ST. PETERSBURG — Harold Ramirez knew he was going to hit a home run in the fifth inning Saturday, but he didn’t know it would be a milestone. The slugger’s 385-foot blast to leftfield off Clayton Kershaw in the 6-5 loss to the Dodgers was the Rays’ 100th of the season.
They were the first team to the mark in the majors, with the Braves next-closest with 86.
“I just feel very excited,” Ramirez said through interpreter Manny Navarro, “because the pitch before, I (said) I want to hit a home run, and I did it.”
Ramirez’s long ball put the Rays in some rare territory.
They became the fifth-fastest team to the 100-homer mark in a season, behind only the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (53 games), 2000 St. Louis Cardinals (52), 2019 Minnesota Twins (50) and 1999 Seattle Mariners (50). The Twins went on to set the single-season record with 307.
After 54 games last season, the Rays had 52 home runs. It took them until August 12, their 111th game, to hit their 100th.
The Rays have an MLB-best 11 players with five or more home runs this season. That includes Ramirez, who now has eight in 41 games and is three shy of his career-best of 11 in 2019. It took him 119 games to reach the only double-digit home run total of his career.
Breakfast at the Trop
The couch in the managers’ office of the visitors’ clubhouse at Tropicana Field is temptingly comfortable. Looking ahead to Sunday’s “unique,” 11:35 a.m. start time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was eyeing it.
“I was thinking about sleeping here. I’ve never stayed in a stadium,” Roberts said with a laugh. “No it’s gonna be early, but (the Rays have) got to do the same thing. So, it’s gonna be tough. But you’ve got to play the schedule you’re dealt and make no excuses. But it’s gonna be an early one (Sunday).”
The early start is due to the game being broadcast nationally on Peacock TV. The NBCUniversal-owned streaming network has the exclusive window between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for the 19 Sunday-morning games they will broadcast this season.
For baseball, a game built on routines, it would seem to be a bit of a shock to the system. The Rays and Dodgers, however, are taking it in stride.
“Wake up earlier. Yeah, that’s about it,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I mean, you know, It’s unique. It’s probably more unique for that team over there. So, hopefully we will use it to our advantage.”
Roberts was sincere about making no excuses. The Dodgers seemingly have one built in with it being an 8:30 start on their body clocks at the end of a three-city road trip. But Roberts thinks it might actually be to their benefit.
“I mean, shoot, we went Midwest to the east, so we’re adjusted,” he said. “It’s fine.”
Miscellany
Right-hander Cooper Criswell, who picked up his first major-league win on Friday, was optioned to Triple-A Durham Saturday morning to make room for Tyler Glasnow on the 26-man active roster. … Taylor Walls went 2-for-4 with a double and had a stolen base in a career-best three straight games. His 14 steals are tied for fifth-most in the American League and seventh-most in MLB … Saturday’s game was the 4,000th in Rays history.
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Twitter and Facebook.