Cedric Mullins homers in 13th to lift Rays past Pirates 8-7 in rain-soaked game
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cedric Mullins led off the 13th inning with a two-run home run and the Tampa Bay Rays outlasted the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on a rainy Saturday night. Mullins’ blast to right field off Yohan Ramirez scored automatic runner Jonny DeLuca. Mullins entered the day hitting just .
129 after signing with Tampa Bay in the offseason as a free agent. Griffin Jax (1-2) pitched a scoreless 12th. Yoendrys Gomez allowed a run-scoring single to rookie Konnor Griffin in the bottom of the 13th, then struck out Joey Bart with runners on second and third to end it.
Both teams scored a run in the 11th. The Rays’ Taylor Walls came around from first on a wild pickoff throw by Ramirez (2-1). The Pirates countered with Griffin’s run-scoring fielder’s choice.
Pittsburgh tied it at 5 in the eighth on rookie Nick Yorke’s RBI single. The first pitch was moved up 30 minutes in hopes that the teams could beat the rain. However, play was stopped for 2 hours, 27 minutes, with the Pirates leading 4-0.
The Rays then scored five runs in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Junior Caminero doubled in the first run and scored on Jonathan Aranda’s single. Two batters later, pinch-hitter DeLuca lined a two-run single to center field, and Mullins followed with a go-ahead single.