The job description is simple, really.
Alex Colome is a Rescue Ranger.
Colome, the Tampa Bay Rays’ closer, turned out the lights again Monday night, slamming the door on the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 6-4 victory. It was the 16th straight save for Colome, which tied the club record for consecutive saves to start a season (Rafael Soriano and Al Reyes). It was his fourth straight save, which has him fourth in the league. It was also the fourth save in four nights.
“Maybe we should fly him out so I don’t use him again,” manager Kevin Cash joked.
The Rays got a quality start from Chris Archer, who went to 4-7 with the win despite giving up home runs to pitcher Robbie Ray and outfielder David Peralta.
“I wish I could have done more,” said Archer. “Ideally, I would have liked to have gone deeper. But when you strike out a lot of people, your pitch count goes up.”
The Diamondbacks tried to make a comeback, but Xavier Cedeno struck out Brandon Drury with the bases loaded in the seventh.
The Rays’ offense was fueled by players who are normally in the supporting cast. Mikey Mahtook (who is now hitting .159) had two hits. Tim Beckham (now hitting .185) hit a two-run homer. Desmond Jennings (.189) had a double and a home run. And Taylor Motter (.200) had two hits.
The Rays play Arizona again tonight with Matt Moore pitching.
