Big Guava saves us from a series sweep.
It was supposed to be Chris Brown’s night in Tampa — but hours before the R&B star could Take You Down at his sold-out concert, it was a Rays slugger who stole the spotlight and left the opposing pitchers gasping for No Air.
With first pitch moved up to an early afternoon slot to accommodate the postgame concert, many wondered if the bats would be sleepy in the Florida sun. But the Big Guava came ready to Turn Up the Music.
Yandy Diaz homered not once, but twice — a Don’t Wake Me Up I must be dreaming kind of performance — sending two baseballs into orbit like they were destined to Run It.
The first blast? A laser into the right-field seats that had fans in the stands hollering “Gimme That!”
The second? A majestic moonshot that felt like it belonged on the Wall to Wall highlight reel.
With Blake Snell on the mound, it was clear this wasn’t just any game — this was a Look at Me Now moment. Many Rays fans regretted they had to Say Goodbye to the Cy Young winner, and the sellout in the Florida sun made it clear the fans wanted to let Snell feel the love, but it was Yandy Diaz who got to Kiss Kiss goodbye and make the fans Go Crazy.
Diaz has also had to return to the field with Jonathan Aranda’s wrist sprain, but you would have thought it was Freaky Friday with how Diaz was channeling Aranda’s glove.
The Rays have been in a scoring slump, but this kind of statement game surely did Turn Up the Music for the fans who showed up early and stayed loud.
DRAYSBAY PLAYER OF THE SERIES
- 1st: Kameron Misner
- 2nd: Jake Mangum
- 3rd: Brandon Lowe
- 4th: Jose Caballero
- 5th: Joe Boyle
- 6th: Shane Baz
- 7th: Chandler Simpson
- 8th: Christopher Morel
- 9th: Chandler Simpson
- 10th: Mason Englert
- 11th: Taylor Walls
- 12th: Yandy Diaz
- 13th: Travis Jankowski
- 14th: Brandon Lowe
- 15th: Drew Rasmussen
- 16th: Curtis Mead
- 17th: Junior Caminero
- 18th: Zack Littell
- 19th: Zack Littell
- 20th: Junor Caminero
- 21st: Christopher Morel
- 22nd: Yandy Diaz
- 23rd: Junior Caminero
- 24th: Brandon Lowe
- 25th: Yandy Diaz
- 26th: Shane Baz
- 27th: Brandon Lowe
- 28th: Yandy Diaz
- 29th: Joe Boyle
- 30th: Jonathan Aranda
- 31st: Taj Bradley
- 32nd: Yandy Diaz
- 33rd: Junior Caminero
- 34th: Ryan Pepiot
- 35th: Jonathan Aranda
- 36th: Yandy Diaz