Díaz, Rays tie team record with 6 HRs, romp past Twins 11-4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit one of Tampa Bay's franchise record-tying six homers and drove in four runs, Wander Franco extended his on-base streak to 34 games and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 11-4 on Saturday.

Díaz had an RBI single in the first inning and a three-run homer off Andrew Albers during a five-run second as the Rays went up 7-0.

"It was amazing to see,” winning pitcher Chris Archer said. “A lot of times you hear the saying, ‘hitting is contagious.’ It was contagious tonight.”

Franco broke a tie with Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Arky Vaughan for the third-longest streak by a player under 21 on his first-inning RBI single.

The 20-year-old Franco played after clearing MLB concussion protocols. He left Thursday’s game against Boston with a headache and sat out Friday night’s game with the Twins.

“He looked good to me,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “Play at high energy, making nice plays and just barrelling baseballs all over the field.”

Jordan Luplow, Manuel Margot, Randy Arozarena, Nelson Cruz and Brandon Lowe also homered for Rays, who increased their division lead over the New York Yankees to 7 ½ games.

Archer (1-1) allowed four runs and four hits over five innings in his third start after missing four months with forearm tightness. It was his first win since June 6, 2019, with Pittsburgh.

Dietrich Enns went the final three innings to get his first career save. He is the 13th Tampa Bay reliever with a save this year, which broke the major league record of 12 set by the 2020 Rays and 1973 Texas Rangers.

“That's pretty special,” Cash said.

Minnesota got homers from Miguel Sanó and Jorge Polanco, who came within a triple of hitting for the cycle.

Albers (1-1)...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/D-az-Rays-tie-team-record-with-6-HRs-romp-past-16436297.php