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The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night by a score of 7-6.
The 11-inning loss was a tough one for Tampa Bay, who fell to 2.5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
Even in defeat though, Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt provided a cool memory, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI on his birthday.
That birthday blast also made a little history for the organization per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Christian Bethancourt is the 2nd Rays player to homer on his birthday in multiple years, joining Carl Crawford, who did so in 3 separate seasons
he’s the first Rays player to do so in CONSECUTIVE seasons
birthdays are important.
The 32-year-old Betancourt is now hitting .227 this year with nine home runs and 30 RBI. For his career, he's a .232 hitter with 28 home runs and 110 RBI. He's in his seventh year in the big leagues with the Braves, Padres, Athletics and Rays.
He's a great story, too. He made his major league debut in 2013 with the Braves and appeared in major league games each year from 2013-2017. Then, he didn't play in a major league game until 2022 when he resurfaced with the Athletics.
The Rays are now 82-54 on the year and will take on the Guardians again on Sunday afternoon.
First pitch is slated for 4:10 p.m. ET as Rays' rookie Taj Bradley pitches against Xzavion Curry (CLE).
Bradley is 5-7 with a 5.67 ERA while Curry is 3-3 with a 4.10.
More must-reads:
- Braves use explosive offense to beat Guardians in clash of MLB titans
- Nationals two-time All-Star lands on IL amid struggles
- The 'Active MLB strikeout leaders' quiz
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