Standing by his locker in the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field on Sunday afternoon, Taylor Walls found himself facing an intriguing question: was he aware of his impressive career statistics with the bases loaded? The reporter hinting at the numbers described them as “crazy,” leaving the Tampa Bay Rays’ shortstop puzzled.
“Crazy bad?” he asked, unsure of the implication.
The reporter quickly clarified that it was quite the opposite, highlighting Walls’ remarkable career OPS of 1.010 when the bases are full.
In response, Walls joked, “Go tell Cash to put me in at cleanup,” referring to manager Kevin Cash, prompting shared laughter in the clubhouse.
The mood was buoyant among the Rays following their 6-3 victory over the Marlins, marking their seventh consecutive series win and boosting their American League-best record to 30-15.
Down 2-1 in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Walls improved his OPS with the bases juiced to 1.100. He sent Eury Perez’s first pitch, a 98 mph fastball, soaring to the wall in right-center. This crucial hit allowed Jonny DeLuca, Cedric Mullins, and Nick Fortes to score, giving Tampa Bay a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Walls comfortably slid into third base.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth and the bases loaded with two outs, Walls lifted his OPS with the sacks full to 1.100 when he drove Eury Perez’s initial offering (98 mph four-seamer) to the wall in right-center. Jonny DeLuca, Cedric Mullins and Nick Fortes scored to the give Tampa Bay the lead for good. Walls motored easily into third.
Walls’ second triple of the season and 10th of his career gave him 40 RBI in 31 at-bats (12-for-31, .387) and 43 plate appearances with the bases loaded since arriving on the big-league scene with the Rays in 2021. In addition to his triple, he has one career grand slam and a pair of doubles with each base occupied. He also has three sacrifice flies and has walked nine times to give him a .488 on base percentage.
“Maybe I focus a little more without really realizing it, but honestly, I’m just going up there trying not to do too much in that situation,” said Walls, whose career average stood at .196 at the conclusion of play Sunday, when he extended his hit streak to six games. “I’m just trying to put the bat on the ball, get a good pitch to hit, be aggressive early. Then if I get to two strikes, just spoil as many (pitches) as I can and then hopefully find a hole.”
Walls, who leads the American League with five sacrifice bunts, is known for his superior defense, which was also on display Sunday. That was especially the case in the sixth inning. The Rays had a 5-2 lead on Miami, which had runners on first and second with one out and the tying run at the plate in the person of Leo Jimenez.
Kevin Kelly came out of the Tampa Bay bullpen to take over for starter Drew Rasmussen and face Jimenez. He got the much-needed ground ball, albeit with a little mustard on it. Walls, though, made it look easy by ranging to his left to field the ball cleanly, step on second and fire to first baseman Jonathan Aranda to complete the double play. Just like that, the inning was over with the Rays maintaining the three-run lead.
“That double play that he started and finished was highlight-reel worthy,” said Cash.
So is the 29-year-old Walls’ production with the bases loaded.
“A lot of times it is easy to try to do too much,” said Walls, of such situations. “I feel most of the time I focus on what I need to focus on, which is basically being aggressive on a pitch in a certain location.”
