TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays got a sense of what the summer weather will be like in returning to Steinbrenner Field Tuesday, dodging rain drops and sitting through a short delay while beating the Texas Rangers 5-1.

Rookie outfielder Kameron Misner delivered the first run with an opposite-field home run in the second. The Rays loaded the bases in the sixth and took advantage of some Rangers sloppiness to build the lead to 4-0. Red-hot Junior Caminero homered in the eighth, his fifth in his last six games and 14th of the season.

But the best performance of the night came from Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who worked five dominant innings, allowing one infield hit while striking out eight and walking none.

Rasmussen extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings over his last four starts, the longest current such run in the majors and 1 2/3 short of Alex Cobb’s team record.

The Rays improved to 31-29 in winning for the 10th time in their last 13 games and 15th in their last 23. They also won for the eighth time in their last nine home games.

Misner’s homer took a looping flight into the left-field corner. Left fielder Wyatt Langford clearly didn’t see it, stopping well short of the fence and throwing up his hands.

FanDuel Sports Network TV cameras didn’t have a clear shot, though analyst Brian Anderson said he saw it just clear the fence inside the foul pole.

The umpires requested a replay review and must have had an additional angle, as the call was confirmed. MLB Statcast measured it at 328 feet with an exit velocity of just 88.9 mph.

After playing through some rain and a 17-minute delay in the third inning, the Rays widened their lead in the sixth. They loaded the bases and chased Tyler Mahle when Yandy Diaz walked, Jonathan Aranda singled and Junior Caminero walked.

The Rays forced the action from there, getting three runs on one hit.

Reliever Jacob Latz’s first pitch sailed high of home plate, allowing Diaz to score. Jake Mangum hit a slow grounder toward first that the Rangers failed to make a play on, getting Aranda home and Caminero to third. Then as Misner struck out, Mangum broke for second. As catcher Kyle Higashiooka made an errant throw, Caminero raced home.

The Rangers got one run in the seventh off Garrett Cleavinger. Caminero added his homer in the eighth.

Wednesday: vs. Rangers

7:35 p.m. ET, Steinbrenner Field

Pitchers: Rays — RH Shane Baz (4-3, 4.92); Rangers, RH Kumar Rocker (1-3, 8.10)

Info: raysbaseball.com

On deck

Thursday: vs. Rangers, 7:35 p.m. Rays, RH Ryan Pepiot (3-5, 3.21); Rangers, RH Jack Leiter (4-2, 3.66)

____

©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit at tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.