Rays 10, Tigers 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays won back-to-back games swinging the bats, with an unlikely spark in backup catcher Curt Casali, who hit two home runs for the second straight night in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field.
Casali, just the second player in Rays history with back-to-back multi-home run games, had six home runs in a span of 19 at-bats, with more bombs in that span than all Rays catchers totaled last season. Tuesday's came against former Rays ace David Price, who gave up five runs on seven hits for just his fourth loss of the season.
Tampa Bay (51-51) had gone 13 straight games without scoring more than four runs, and now it accomplished the feat two nights in a row. Detroit (48-52) was held to two runs or less for the fifth time in six games, all losses. Jake Odorizzi (6-6) outdueled his former teammate Price (9-4) for the win.
Casali had a two-run home run in the fourth and a solo home run in the sixth, both off Price. The only other time in franchise history a Rays player had back-to-back multi-homer games was Greg Vaughn in 2002. According to Elias, he is just the second rookie catcher ever to do so, following Seattle's Kenji Johjima in 2006.
Rays third baseman Evan Longoria added a solo home run in the eighth, his 11th of the season, and rookie shortstop Tim Beckham brought in three runs with a bases-loaded triple for a 9-1 lead, scoring on a sacrifice fly by outfielder Kevin Kiermaier for the Rays' first 10-run game since May 17.
The Rays jumped out to a 4-1 lead on Price, who was making his second appearance at Tropicana Field since he was dealt to Detroit at last year's trade deadline.
Casali, who hit two home runs Monday in Tampa Bay's win over the Tigers, came through again, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning for a 4-1 Rays lead.
Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the second on three hits, with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hitting a double and scoring on an RBI single by second baseman Tim Beckham.
Detroit tied the game in the fourth on a solo home run by Yoenis Cespedes, who also had a solo shot Monday.
The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by right fielder Steven Souza and Cabrera, who subsequently scored on Casali's home run.
NOTES: The Rays traded OF David DeJesus to the Angels for minor league RHP Eduar Lopez. DeJesus, 35, was hitting .259 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Lopez, 20, was 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in eight starts for rookie-level Orem. Tampa Bay played down a man Tuesday, with a corresponding addition expected after the game. ... Rays SS Asdrubal Cabrera was reinstated from the disabled list and batted sixth, hitting a double off the wall in left field and scoring in the second inning. ... Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiemaier, who left Monday's game with an abrasion to his left eye that affected his vision, started and batted ninth. ... Tigers RHP Shane Greene, who started the season 3-0 but last won a major league game May 15, was moved to the bullpen. He is 4-8 with a 6.72 ERA. RHP Buck Farmer will start Friday at Baltimore.