Cruz homers twice, reaches milestone in win

BOSTON -- As soon as he woke up Tuesday, Nelson Cruz went to work. The Rays’ 41-year-old designated hitter set up a tee in his hotel room and started running through drills. At home, he does this by hitting plastic balls off a tee. On the road, he often has to use a shorter bat and a little imagination to make sure his swing is in the right place.

The early morning drills performed hours before he reports to the ballpark are just one example of the work ethic that has sustained Cruz’s late-career success, and they paid off for him in a big way Tuesday night. Cruz homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs as part of the Rays’ offensive onslaught in a 12-7 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

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Cruz’s numbers with Tampa Bay might not jump off the page, but he’s rounding into form in the final month of the regular season. It was another big game the Rays have come to expect from their big midseason trade acquisition and another impressive showing by the Majors’ highest-scoring lineup.

“We’ve been saying that it's just a matter of time, and we were all very confident in that,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The track record speaks for itself. He's going to hit. He's going to really, really contribute for us.”

Cruz and Mike Zunino each homered twice, Jordan Luplow hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Drew Rasmussen delivered another solid start as the Rays won for the 13th time in 16 games, improved to a Major League-leading 35-14 since the All-Star break and boosted their American League-best record (88-51) to a franchise-record 37 games above .500.

With their win and the Yankees’ loss, the Rays also increased their lead over the Yanks in the AL East to 9 1/2 games, another franchise record.

“When our offense is going, with how good our pitching and defense is, it's really hard to beat us. We're a really good team, and we're playing with a lot of confidence right now,” said Rasmussen, who gave up one run in five innings to earn his first win since joining the Rays’ rotation. “Our offense is just catching their stride at the right time, and we're going to be a dangerous team as we move forward.”

The Rays already had a potent lineup before acquiring Cruz from the Twins on July 22, but they’ve reached another level since he joined the team. They’ve scored at least eight runs in half of their 42 games since Cruz’s Tampa Bay debut, including Tuesday’s 14-hit performance. Even when Cruz hasn’t been at his best, he’s clearly made a positive impact on the rest of the team.

“We added a very special hitter that is certainly going to do his part to contribute to the offense and the runs,” Cash said. “When you add an elite bat like that in the lineup, everybody else around you probably sees some better pitches to hit because everybody knows where he's sitting in the lineup.”

After overcoming a six-run deficit to win Monday’s series opener, the Rays secured an early lead Tuesday against Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and never looked back. They scored three runs in the second inning on back-to-back doubles by Manuel Margot and Luplow, then Joey Wendle singled and Zunino hit a two-run triple -- his second of the season and only the fifth of his career -- to right field.

In the third, Cruz launched a two-run shot to center off Rodriguez. He went deep again in the fifth, blasting a solo shot to left off reliever Michael Feliz. It was Cruz’s ninth multihomer game of the season and the 40th of his career. Cruz also became the oldest player in AL/NL history to reach the 30-homer mark, surpassing David Ortiz at 40 years old in 2016.

“Definitely a privilege,” Cruz said.

In his last 13 games, Cruz has gone 17-for-54 with four homers, four doubles and 14 RBIs. He said his swing “finally” feels like it’s where it needs to be, that he’s better able to recognize pitches and get on top of them than he had been -- a product of the work that begins early each morning.

The Rays were hardly concerned about Cruz, but they are excited to see what he has in store the rest of the way.

“I have told guys for a long time: Just be careful, because when he does, he's going to be able to carry a full lineup,” Zunino said. “Seeing him drive the ball the opposite way and then be able to get some balls in the air now, it's going to be really fun to watch these next few weeks down this stretch, because he can really keep us going here.”

Zunino, meanwhile, continued his march toward his first 30-homer campaign. After snapping an 0-for-10 skid Monday night, Zunino slammed a first-pitch fastball from Rodriguez out to left in the fourth inning, then he clubbed a first-pitch fastball from Feliz out to center in the sixth. It was the second multihomer game of the season for Zunino, who has gone deep 29 times while driving in 55 runs.

“What a season he's put together,” Cash said, “and it's going to continue to get better for him.”

The Rays put the game well out of reach in the seventh against right-hander Brad Peacock. Randy Arozarena doubled, Wander Franco walked to extend his on-base streak to 37 games, Cruz bashed an RBI double off the Green Monster, then Luplow connected on a three-run homer.

“Definitely, we're playing pretty good. The offense is doing the job,” Cruz said. “We're scoring enough runs to win games, and that's what matters.”