ST. PETERSBURG — The first-place Tampa Bay Rays pounded out a season-high 21 hits Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, with eight players recording multiple hits for just the sixth time in franchise history as Tampa Bay improved its American League-leading record to 58-42 after 100 games.

The 21 hits tied for the third most in a single game in Rays history and marked the club’s highest total since a 17-2 win over the Orioles on Sept. 5, 2007. Chandler Simpson and Ben Williamson each collected four hits, Nick Fortes homered for the second consecutive game as part of a three-hit, four-RBI night, and Yandy Díaz launched a three-run homer in the ninth inning of his 1,000th Major League game.

“They were incredible,” pitcher Drew Rasmussen said. “That’s unbelievable. Nights like this don’t happen very often.”

A pivotal first inning set the tone for both clubs. Díaz battled Toronto starter Kevin Gausman for 12 pitches in the game’s opening at-bat before lining out, and the Rays eventually strung together a two-out, three-run rally that consumed 38 pitches. Junior Caminero walked, Cedric Mullins doubled, and Jonny DeLuca drove in two before Simpson capped the frame with an RBI single. “A lot of impressive at-bats, and I think Yandy’s at-bat was very impressive,” manager Kevin Cash said.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, but Rasmussen escaped unscathed, retiring Daulton Varsho on a popup and striking out Kazuma Okamoto. “We needed a shutdown inning,” Cash said. “Sometimes those shutdown innings come in the fifth or sixth. Sometimes they come in the first, and we needed it.”

“That was huge, because they very easily could have grabbed some momentum back,” Fortes said. “Credit to him for keeping the runs off the board. I think that really helped propel the offense after that inning, for sure.”

Rasmussen, bouncing back from rough outings before the All-Star break, allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five in five-plus innings. The Rays lead the Majors this season with a .262 average in two-out situations with runners in scoring position. “It just attests to everything that we can do in the lineup,” Simpson said. “We can win it with speed, put the bat on the ball. We can also use the power game as well to win ballgames.”

DeLuca, who drove in two runs and stole a base in the first inning, echoed that approach. “Just not changing who we are in those situations, not getting too big or too small or changing when there’s runners in scoring position,” DeLuca said. “Just staying with the plan and approach that we have normally, and it works out.”

The Rays continue their series against Toronto in St. Petersburg on Wednesday as they look to extend their lead atop the American League standings.