Mullins Takes Junk Yard as Rays Handle Marlins: Rays 7, Marlins 2

· Yahoo Sports

May 15, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) bunts for single in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Dominating the Miami Marlins is a great way to open MLB’s second annual Rivalry Weekend for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Speaking of opening, Ian Seymour did exactly what an opener is supposed to do in the first inning. He got Xavier Edwards to pop out, struck out Liam Hicks, and handled Otto Lopez with a groundout. A nice, clean, and straightforward half inning.

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The bottom of the first started quietly as well and then got exciting quickly. Chandler Simpson grounded out and Junior Caminero popped out, so the Rays were one out away from letting Janson Junk also have a clean inning. Then Jonathan Aranda walked to give the game its first baserunner. Aranda has been getting on base all month, leading the majors in OBP for the month of May.

Yandy Díaz made sure the free pass hurt. Díaz jumped on a pitch and drove it out to left for a two-run homer, helping the Rays go from two outs to a 2-0 lead.

The Marlins answered in the second, and for a moment, it looked like this could become one of those games where teams trade runs back and forth. Former Ray Christopher Morel flew out, and Kyle Stowers struck out. Then, Connor Norby got Miami on the board with a two-out solo homer to trim the Rays’ lead. Seymour was one out away from finishing two innings facing the minimum, and suddenly the Marlins had life.

Jakob Marsee made things even more interesting. He dropped in a single, stole second, and advanced to third when Hunter Feduccia’s throw got away. That is the type of sequence that can turn a solo homer into a crooked number inning if the pitcher does not stop it right there. Seymour did, getting Esteury Ruiz to ground out. It was not perfect, but it was important. The Marlins had momentum, a runner at third, and a chance to turn the inning into something bigger. Instead, the Rays kept the lead.

The bottom of the second saw the bottom of the Rays’ order adding pressure. Richie Palacios got things started with a double, Cedric Mullins followed with a soft bunt single, and suddenly, Miami was defending with baserunners everywhere. Mullins stole second, Feduccia lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Palacios, and Walls reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Mullins from third. That made it a 4-1 game with Chandler Simpson coming to the plate. Simpson grounded into a double play to end the inning, so there was still a little meat left on the bone, but the Rays carried the three-run lead into the third.

Jesse Scholtens took over in the third and gave the Rays what they needed from the bulk role. Miami put two aboard in that inning on singles from Edwards and Lopez, but Scholtens got Morel to ground into a force out. Again, the Marlins had a window, and the Rays closed it before any damage could happen.

The fourth inning was where the game really tilted. Scholtens worked a calm top half, allowing only a two-out single to Marsee before Ruiz tried to bunt his way aboard and was retired. Then the Rays went back to work against Junk. Palacios singled to center. Mullins followed with another bunt single; the Marlins’ infield had no chance of defending. Feduccia hit into a force out, cutting down Palacios at third, but the inning was not over.

Walls made sure of that. With two aboard, he ripped a double down the right-field line, scoring Mullins and Feduccia to stretch the lead to 6-1. Walls was thrown out trying for third on Morel’s relay, which was not ideal, but the damage had been done. Simpson followed with a triple, which made the out at third sting a little more, because another run was sitting there. Caminero struck out to end the inning, so the Rays had to settle for two. Settle, of course, is relative. A five-run lead with Scholtens rolling is a nice problem to have.

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The fifth brought a defensive wobble when Caminero made a throwing error that put Otto Lopez aboard, but Scholtens escaped again. Errors happen. The next pitch, the next batter, the next out decides whether it becomes a footnote or a turning point. Morel flew out, and it stayed a footnote.

Miami got one back in the sixth when Marsee homered to right, cutting it to 6-2. He was a headache for the Rays, reaching several times and adding the solo shot. The Rays answered immediately.

Mullins led off the bottom half with a homer to right, restoring the five-run cushion at 7-2 and shutting the Marlins’ window of hope again.

Feduccia followed with a ground-rule double, and Simpson later moved him to third with a single, but the inning ended when Simpson was caught stealing after Michael Petersen replaced Junk. Another missed chance, sure, but the Rays’ lead was comfortable at this point. The late innings were mostly clean and quiet. Scholtens finished five strong innings of work in relief of Seymour, and Casey Legumina handled the final two frames without letting Miami back into the conversation.

This was not a perfect Rays win, but it was a very good Rays win that extended their home winning streak to 11 games.

The opener worked. The bulk arm stabilized everything. Díaz landed the early punch, Walls delivered the separator, Mullins added pressure in every possible way, and the bottom of the order turned small chances into real runs. After the frustrating end in Toronto, the Rays came home and played like a team that knew exactly how to move on.

These teams continue the rivalry tomorrow at 4:10 p.m. with Nick Martinez starting for the Rays opposite Sandy Alcantara for the Marlins.

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