ST. PETERSBURG -- Luke Raley runs about as hard as he hits, and you can check the freshly dented batter’s eye at Tropicana Field for proof of how much damage he can inflict upon a baseball.

Raley did it all Tuesday night, hustling around the bases for his first career triple then crushing a Statcast-projected 450-foot homer high off the wall beyond the center-field fence to support another excellent start by Zach Eflin in the Rays’ 7-0 win over the Twins at Tropicana Field.

“It's so much fun watching all these guys play, but Luke in particular -- he's a 6-foot-5 guy that just runs faster than you can even imagine,” Eflin said, smiling. “And he put a dent in the wall in center field, so it's really fun.”

Making the most of his first regular opportunity in the Majors, Raley has quickly earned the admiration of his teammates and coaches this season with his earnest attitude, Bunyanesque build, unorthodox running style and impressive all-around performance.

The 28-year-old entered this year needing to prove himself worthy of a spot on the Opening Day roster after hitting .189 with a .561 OPS in 55 big league games for the Dodgers and Rays over the past two years. He simplified his swing last offseason, ditching his leg kick and adjusting his hands to feel more comfortable at the plate. He got off to a good start, and his confidence grew.

“It's hard to build confidence in the big leagues when you're not more of an everyday guy and getting consistent at-bats and stuff,” Raley said. “I just can't thank the Rays enough for giving me the opportunity and for me to be able to show them what I can do.”

Now? He has 11 home runs, seven steals, 24 RBIs and a .261/.355/.590 slash line after 47 games. Among all Major League hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, his .945 OPS on the year ranks eighth, right between Miami's .401-hitting Luis Arraez and Braves star Sean Murphy.

“He's a lot of fun. He is very easy to root for. He's a lot of fun to have fun with during the game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He's just a big part of our team.”

And a big part of Tuesday’s victory, which improved Tampa Bay’s Major League-best record to 44-19 overall, including 27-6 at home -- the best home start in the Majors since the 1998 Yankees (also 27-6) -- and 11-0 in series openers at Tropicana Field this season.

Leading off the fourth inning against Twins starter Louie Varland, Raley lined a ball to right field and dashed around the bases as Max Kepler struggled to pick it up. In the end, Raley completed his home-to-third sprint -- arms flailing as he ran -- in 12.01 seconds and kickstarted a three-run inning for the Rays.

“That's really good speed,” Cash said. “Not a guy that I would like to get in the way of while he's running.”

In the fifth, Raley bashed his 11th homer out to dead center, the Rays’ first home run since Jose Siri went deep last Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Raley’s two-run homer was the second-longest of his career, behind a 472-foot missile at Coors Field two years ago. And it was hit so hard, it left a noticeable dent in the batter’s eye.

Perhaps, Cash quipped, Raley was irritated that he was robbed of a home run by Kiké Hernández on Monday at Fenway Park -- and determined to get one Tuesday.

“I didn't really think about that,” Raley said, smiling. “He made a good play on me yesterday. Today, they couldn't make a play on it.”

Somehow, though, Raley’s blast wasn’t even the longest home run of the game. In the seventh, Siri demolished a hanging slider from Varland and watched his 11th home run of the year fly a Statcast-projected 457 feet to deep left-center field, the longest home run of his career.

That was more than enough run support for Eflin, who improved to 8-1 with a 2.97 ERA (and 7-0 with a 1.85 ERA in seven home starts) as he struck out nine and allowed only four baserunners in 6 2/3 innings to lead the Rays’ ninth shutout of the season. 

The Rays have won 10 of Eflin’s 11 starts this season, and he has worked at least six innings in each of his past seven starts -- valuable work for a staff that’s about to run a pair of bullpen/bulk-inning games to finish the series.

“Very important,” Cash said. “Just a very veteran, savvy approach that has worked really well for us.”