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Rays: 12, Diamondbacks: 1 - Snellzilla Got His Groove Back

Runs just keep on coming!

Arizona Diamondbacks v Tampa Bay Rays Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

After a rain delay in dome-less Baltimore. The Rays head home to Tampa Bay to start their homestead with a 3 game inter-league series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It would be current Ray Blake Snell against former Ray Merrill Kelly.

With a successful stint and an impressive start with the D-backs, it makes one wonder if the Rays ( who struggled hard against Dylan Bundy and Baltimore) would be doomed by another former prospect that just owns the Rays.

Today was not that day.

Is it a Rays game if they don’t score in the 1st inning? This one came via a Ji-Man Choi forceout scored Brandon Lowe. If you are keeping count, the Rays have outscored their opponents 31-11 in the 1st inning. More runs would come in the 2nd inning after (almost) everyone got on base. Daniel Robertson would work a 3-2 count into a walk with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 Rays and Tommy Pham at the plate.

Tommy Pham’s 5th HR on the season and his 1st career Grand Slam would make it 6-0 Rays. 2nd inning. Woo! Want the stat cast? We got you:

Runs kept on coming with a Avisail Garcia singling home Yandy Diaz in the 3rd inning, and the Rays had a 7 run lead a third of the way through the game.

No lead is comfortable, right? We’ve seen Rays blow a 7 run lead plenty of times, and Snell did not exactly perform well his last time out against Kansas City.

Snell must've been inspired by Tyler Glasnow’s start in Baltimore, because he came to deal.

Blake Snell was perfection, and I don’t mean that in the figurative sense. He flirted with a perfect game all up until the 6th inning, where Illdemaro Vargas singled, and Tim Locastro got hit by a pitch, but Snell got Ketel Marte to ground out softly and end the inning.

Zilla’s final line? 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 strikeouts, and only 83 pitches.

So Snell was solid, but JUST IN CASE the Rays bullpen gave up 7 runs, the Rays took out more insurance off a Daniel Robertson double, and an into the shift single from ROTY front-runner, Brandon Lowe.

Chaz Roe took over for Snell for 1.0 IP and delivered a clean inning with 0 H and 2 BB, but no Runs.

Meanwhile, the Rays kept on adding to the lead with a long awaited 2-run HR by Avisail Garcia.

I mean it was off of JR Murphy, but STILL!

Casey Sadler finished the game off, working for 2 IP, giving up 1 H, 1 R (Not Earned), 1 BB, and 1 K.

That would be your final. Rays: 12, Diamondbacks: 1. Rays will send out Ryne Stanek to open tomorrow against Taylor Clarke, who will be making his 1st MLB start. Game time is at 7:10 PM