“Sunburst Awards” is a series-by-series evaluation of player performance, where four different awards are given out after each series: Offensive player of the series, defensive player of the series, pitcher of the series, and highlight play of the series. This edition will be covering the 27th series of the season, where the Tampa Bay Rays took on the Washington Nationals from June 28 to June 30, a three game series at Tropicana Field.
It was only a matter of time before the Rays dropped a series, but that was brutal. Let’s try our best to give out some awards
Game 1: Rays - 0 Rangers - 3 (recap)
Game 2: Rays - 3 Rangers - 4 (recap)
Game 3: Rays - 2 Rangers - 13 (recap)
Offensive Sunburst Award: Yandy Diaz
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Diaz was perhaps the only Rays player in this series to put up a half-decent performance at the plate, sporting four hits, including a home run in game one to put the Rays in front.