​ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Vilade delivered a three-run homer, Ben Williamson posted a career-best four hits, and Jonathan Aranda added three hits with an RBI to help the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Saturday afternoon. Vilade’s line-drive blast off Gabe Speier broke open a tight 2-1 game with two out in the seventh, driving in Aranda and Junior Caminero. It marked Vilade’s first career pinch-hit homer and came after Seattle intentionally walked Caminero.
Williamson, who was drafted by Seattle in 2023 and traded to Tampa Bay in February, evened the score in the second with a double that brought Chandler Simpson home from first. He later scored an insurance run in the eighth as the Rays stretched their lead and handed Seattle its fifth consecutive loss, matching a season high for the Mariners.
The Rays, who own the American League’s best record, built a four-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. They grabbed the initiative in the third with back-to-back doubles, highlighted by Aranda’s gap shot that scored Yandy Díaz to put Tampa Bay up 2-1. Seattle had taken an early lead when Cole Young scored on Colt Emerson’s sacrifice fly in the second, but the Mariners couldn’t muster another runner to third base as Garrett Jax (5-6) and three Rays relievers retired 19 of the 23 batters down the stretch.
Seattle finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and is 0-for-20 in its last three games. Prior to the game, Evan Longoria was inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame in a ceremony that delayed the first pitch by 25 minutes. The event drew 22,597 fans to Tropicana Field, the franchise’s highest attendance since Tampa Bay’s home opener against the Cubs on April 6. The ceremony also preceded the team’s plan to retire Longoria’s No. 3 jersey on Sunday.
Logan Gilbert (7-6) struck out Jonny DeLuca in the second inning to become the fifth Mariners pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts in a Mariners uniform. For Tampa Bay, left-hander Ian Seymour (6-1, 4.11 ERA) is slated to start Sunday’s series finale against Seattle right-hander Emerson Hancock (6-4, 3.23).