Ernest Hooper’s takeaways from Sunday’s Rays-Rangers game

Timely hits, hip-hop hits and a big attendance miss

The Rays' Yandy Diaz celebrates in the dugout after he scores during the second inning against the Rangers on Sunday, June 30, 2019. Diaz belts three doubles and scores three runs. [ALLIE GOULDING | Times]

Ernest HooperGuest columnist

Published Jun. 30, 2019|Updated Jul. 1, 2019

• When the Rays fell behind 2-1 in the fourth inning, the moment called for a quick reply to boost the team and fuel the confidence of starter Blake Snell. The Rays delivered in the bottom half of the inning, going up 3-2. Kevin Cash called the response pivotal.

• The Rays like to blast Rob Base’s It Takes Two when a player hits a double. Yandy Diaz might make the hip-hop hit his personal theme song. On Sunday, he roped three doubles and scored after each one. He has 16 doubles this season, including seven in his past 16 games.

• The announced attendance of 11,234 was by far the smallest the team has drawn on a Sunday this season. In their first five Sunday games in 2019, the Rays averaged 19,472. Too soon to tell if the crowd represented a response to the team’s Montreal split-season plan, but it’s not a good sign.

Up next:Sweet Snell of success back into Rays season