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Tampa Bay Rays News and Links: Jacob Faria off to historic start

Fantastic Faria, Slammin Souza, & Launching Longoria

MLB: Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers
Surprised the towel didn’t catch fire with how hot Faria has been
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Since making his major league debut, Jacob Faria has been phenomenal for the Rays. Over this three outings, he has allowed just three runs in just under 20 innings pitched. Yesterday afternoon was his best performance thus far and one of the best we’ve seen from a Rays starting pitcher this season.

Faria didn’t need much offensive support, but he received plenty nonetheless as the Rays blasted five home runs (3rd time this season they’ve hit that many) and ultimately scored nine runs. The big blow came from Steven Souza who launched a grand slam in the 3rd inning, Souza also homered on Mother’s Day. Logan Morrison has two homers, while Derek Norris and Evan Longoria also homered.

The Rays split the series with Detroit and are back to two games over .500 at 37-35 and in sole possession of the second wild card spot, clinging to a half game lead over the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees meanwhile have been in a free fall, losing six in a row to allow the Rays to move up to just three and half games behind in the division, while the Red Sox are tied for the division lead.