Blake Snell endured a frustrating return from the 60-day injured list as he allowed two unlucky home runs to Yandy Díaz, which were enough for the Tampa Bay Rays in their 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Díaz’s first blast to the opposite field came when he led off the bottom of the first inning. Snell then connected back-to-back strikeouts en route to retiring the next three batters faced.
He added two more strikeouts in the second and third innings. However, the third also saw Díaz benefit from a short distance to the right field wall at George M. Steinbrenner Field for a second time as he got fought off an inside fastball for a two-run homer.
Díaz later singled as well and finished with three of the five hits Snell allowed over five innings. He finished with a season-high eight strikeouts and threw 86 pitches in his first start for the Dodgers since April 2. Snell got through his outing without issuing a walk for the first time this season.
Manager Dave Roberts said Snell was fully built up to throw 90 pitches or complete six innings, but that the team would be mindful of the humid conditions.
Meanwhile, Drew Rasmussen quieted the Dodgers over 5.1 innings. He exited with a runner on first base, and Garrett Cleavinger allowed back-to-back singles to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman upon taking over.
Cleavinger escaped the jam by getting Teoscar Hernández to ground into a double play. Junior Caminero added onto momentum the Rays captured by leading off the bottom of the sixth with a home run.
Hunter Feduccia went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his Rays debut. Pete Fairbanks, who the Dodgers reportedly had interest in, struck out Ohtani, Freeman and Hernández in the ninth inning.
Yandy Díaz home runs against Blake Snell
The exit velocity on Díaz’s first home run was 93.5 mph, which is below what qualifies for a hard-hit ball (95 mph minimum). Furthermore, it traveled just 326 feet and thus would not have been a home run in any other MLB stadium.
Díaz’s second homer had an exit velocity of just 92.2 mph, but did carry 341 feet. That was good for also being a home run in three of 30 MLB ballparks: Yankee Stadium, Tropicana Field and Daikin Park.
The Rays are playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season due to Tropicana Field being significantly damaged by Hurricane Milton during the offseason.
Repairs for the Rays’ normal home stadium, which includes needing to replace the roof, are not expected to be completed until Opening Day of the 2026 season at the earliest
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