Home sweet dome. Tropicana Field has been just that for the Tampa Bay Rays so far in 2026. At 26-10 (.722), the club has MLB’s best home record and equaled its second-best 36-game mark inside the friendly confines.
“The fan base has really rallied behind us the entire season,” said first baseman Jonathan Aranda, following Friday night’s 5-2 win over the visiting Nationals. “Thankfully, we have been playing really well. You just want to do your part and put on a good show for the fans.”
The Rays have been doing their part while putting on a good show. After Saturday’s 4-3 loss, they rebounded to win Sunday afternoon’s game by the same score and take the three-game series. Rays’ pitchers allowed five homers during the series, though each was of the solo variety. The pitching did not walk a batter in the first two games and yielded only nine runs overall against MLB’s highest-scoring team.
“We pitched very well,” said manager Kevin Cash, whose club heads into a new week in second place and two games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. “That is a very good offense (we faced.) They have a bunch of guys that can make contact and put pressure on the defense with their speed, and they have a couple of guys that can put the ball out of the ballpark.”
The series win came in the front end of what is Tampa Bay’s season-long 10-game homestand. The Royals follow their I-70 series win over the Cardinals with a visit to the rehabbed Trop for a four-game series that gets underway Monday evening. The Diamondbacks then come to town for a three-game weekend series.
Sunday’s win halted a skid of five straight one-run losses for the Rays. They were coming off a trip to Southern California where they lost five of six, including being swept by the Dodgers in the back half with each loss by one run. Tampa Bay, which also lost two of three to the Angels with one of the setbacks by a single run, hit only .216 with 18 runs in the six games.
The pitching was strong with a 4.41 ERA bloated a bit by an 8-0 defeat in Anaheim, and the Rays committed only one error. They limited the Dodgers to 10 runs in their three-game series – that’s 19 runs allowed in six games against L.A. and Washington – though the final result was a 1-5 trip. Some home cooking, at least through the first three games of the homestand, has proven to be a remedy.
“Nobody came back home hanging their head,” said Cash, who noted his team played well in the Golden State, though not well enough. “We were frustrated by the lack of wins, but we can correct that while we are at home.”
Veteran righty Nick Martinez, praised by Cash for his all-star type of season, left Sunday’s game after six innings and with the Rays trailing 3-1. Tampa Bay came within a run on Ryan Vilade’s solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, a blast that traveled 436 feet. Jonny DeLuca, who returned to the lineup Friday after missing 22 games with a strained right hamstring, delivered a two-run homer in the seventh, and the bullpen took care of the rest.
“Losing those three one-run games against the Dodgers was tough,” said Vilade, who had bits and pieces (28 games) with four teams before making a splash in Tampa Bay during a season in which he is hitting .287 with an .824 OPS in 115 at-bats through Sunday. “We were in every game, and then to come home and get the series win to start the 10-game homestand is huge. It gives us some momentum going into (the Royals series.)”
Welcome back, Jonny
DeLuca certainly has momentum on his side heading into the remainder of the homestand. The center fielder was 3-for-8 with a pair of homers, including the aforementioned game-decider Sunday, in two games against the Nats.
“He can do a lot of things to help you win whether it’s defense, on the bases with his speed, and now he is showing some life in his bat with some big pop,” said Cash.
Returning to the lineup at the beginning of a lengthy homestand under the big Trop could be a boon for DeLuca and the Rays.
“You want to win every single game, but it’s not going to happen in a 162-game season,” he said following Sunday’s two-hit effort, which boosted his average to .276. “So, it’s about trying to get some momentum and doing it with the good energy we have at the Trop. We’re having fun here.”
It shows.
