Trade acquisition Christopher Morel homered in his Tampa Bay debut, helping the new-look Rays come from behind to beat the Miami Marlins 9-3 on Tuesday night.
Ben Rortvedt and Yandy Diaz each contributed two-run singles off reliever Declan Cronin (2-3) during a five-run sixth inning that propelled the Rays to a 6-3 lead. Jose Caballero added an RBI double, then stole home to extend the lead in the seventh.
Morel, acquired Sunday in a trade that sent All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes to Chicago, homered to left center field off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera leading off the fourth inning. The deal was one of several the Rays made the past week with an eye on positioning themselves for success in coming years.
With three straight wins, though, Tampa Bay (55-52) also has climbed three games over .500 for the first time in two months and is back in contention for a wild-card playoff berth.
The Marlins (39-68) were also sellers before the trade deadline, moving third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the New York Yankees last week and moving infielder Josh Bell and pitchers Tanner Scott, Trevor Rogers and JT Chargois in deals Tuesday.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs returned from Tommy John surgery, making his first start since April 2023 for the Rays. He allowed a two-run homer to Emmanuel Rivera in the first innings and yielded six hits while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings.
Jake Burger had a solo homer off Tyler Alexander (4-3) for a 3-1 Marlins lead in the fifth.
TRAINERS ROOM
Marlins: Cabrera left the game two pitches into the sixth inning. He appeared to motion with his glove for catcher Nick Fortes to approach the mound and was replaced by Cronin after a brief discussion with manager Skip Schumaker. There was no immediate announcement on why he was removed.
Rays: Springs made his first start since April 13, 2023, against the Boston Red Sox, a span of 474 days. He threw 76 pitches, 46 for strikes.
UP NEXT
Right-hander Taj Bradley (6-4, 2.43 ERA) starts the finale of a two-game series for Tampa Bay. The Marlins did not announce their pitching plans before Tuesday night’s game.
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