Monday, April 22. Game 23: Rays lick their wounds, beat the Royals

Rays  6,  Royals  3


Record:  15 - 8


Attendance:  9,914


Snapping a four-game losing streak and putting the pain of the Red Sox weekend debacle behind them, the Rays returned to the game that has worked well for the first two weeks of the season:  good pitching, good defense, and timely hitting.  The Rays Way.

The Royals drew first blood with a solo home run by Alex Gordon in the top of the first on a three-two pitch from Yonny Chirinos, but the Rays tied it in the bottom of the first on Yandy Diaz's sac fly driving in Tommy Pham who had tripled.  Chirinos was tagged for two more solo homers in the fifth and sixth by Jorge Soler and Hunter Dozier.

The Rays got a run back in the sixth on Daniel Roberston's double and another in the seventh on a fielder's choice, but the decisive blow in the seventh came from Mike Zunino, just back from paternity leave, who hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to dead center field.  Then for good measure Yandy Diaz hit an opposite field homer in the eighth.

Meantime, Chaz Roe followed Chirinos in the seventh and gave up a pair of walks before being replaced by Wilmer Font, who got one man out for the win.  Kolarek pitched a clean eighth, and Emilio Pagan pitched a one-two-three ninth for the save, his first.

The best news of the night is that Austin Meadows' strained thumb is just a strained thumb.  They are saying now that he might be back in a couple of weeks.

A sobering thought:  after the next two home games against the Royals, the Rays travel to Boston for another three-game set.  More fun.