Tampa Bay Rays at Athletics

The two baseballs that sit on a pile of socks in Taylor Walls’ locker tell the story. Written on one in blue ink below Walls’ name: “First home run in 380 days.” On the other: “First home run in 30 minutes.” It’s hard to sum up Walls’ memorable night at Sutter Health Park any better. The slick-fielding but light-hitting shortstop came into Tuesday’s game against the Athletics without a home run in his previous 365 plate appearances, dating back more than a calendar year. He left with his first two dingers of the season -- one from each side of the plate -- and helped power the Rays to a 12-4 rout, their eighth consecutive win. “It’s been a while, it feels like, so it was nice to finally see one leave,” Walls said. “It always gives you a little bit of confidence. It was nice to see the second one go, too. I guess they come in bunches.” Forgive the Rays infielder if he can’t quite remember the feeling of a multihomer game -- his only previous one came on April 18, 2023, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. That was also the site of Walls’ last home run on July 27, 2025. Last, that is, until a cool Tuesday night in West Sacramento. Batting left-handed against righty starter Mason Barnett, Walls pulled a two-run homer into Tampa Bay’s right-center-field bullpen in the fourth inning. He turned around to bat right-handed against lefty reliever Brady Basso in the sixth and just cleared the left-field wall.