It was six years ago today that the Rays played the Houston Astros at Tropicana Field in Game 4 of the 2019 American League Division Series. It was during this game that we saw one of the great defensive plays in franchise history; a moment that saw just how loud “The Old Grey Lady on 16th Street South” could get.
The Astros led the best-of-five series two game to one, but Tampa Bay had already dodged one elimination bullet with a 10-8 win in Game 3.
Thanks for reading Rays Insider! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
The Rays jumped on Astros starter Justin Verlander for three runs in the bottom of the first inning: a solo homer by Tommy Pham, a RBI single by Travis d’Arnaud, and a run-scoring double by Joey Wendle.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough found himself in trouble in the fourth, having given up a leadoff single to Jose Altuve. After a flyout by Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez appeared to have gotten Houston on the board with a blast off the wall in center. But Kevin Kiermaier played the carom perfectly, rocketing the ball back to shortstop Willy Adames, who unleashed a laser to d’Arnaud at the plate to nail Altuve.
Tampa Bay would go on to tie the series with a 4-1 victory, but would lose in a pivotal Game 5 two days later in Houston. The Astros would go on to win the American League pennant before losing to the Washington Nationals in the World Series.
The same two teams would meet in the American League Championship Series the following season, but it would be the Rays who came out victorious in seven games to win the franchise’s second American League pennant.
As for the four Rays players involved on that play:
d’Arnaud left the team as a free agent after the 2019 season, signing a two-year, $16 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. He would spent five seasons in total with the Braves, before signing a two-year $12 million deal in 2025 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Adames would be traded in May 2021 to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for a pair of pitchers: reliever J.P. Feyereisen and starter Drew Rasmussen. He would help lead the Brewers to the postseason three times (2021, 2023, 2024) before leaving in free agency and signing a seven-year $182 million deal with the San Francisco Giants in 2025.
Yarbrough would non-tendered by the Rays after the 2022 season. He would go on to play with the Royals, Dodgers, and Blue Jays before signing with the New York Yankees in 2025.
After having the final option year of his contract with the Rays declined, Kiermaier signed a one-year $9 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, and a $10.5 million deal with Toronto in 2024. At the 2024 trade deadline he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers (ironically, for Yarbrough). That team won the World Series, though Kiermaier was left off the roster for the series. He announced his retirement after the World Series, and spent 2025 as an instructor in the Blue Jays organization.
Thanks to Elijah Flewellen for pointing out the anniversary.