Lowe makes his debut in big win for Rays

by Gary Shelton on April 30, 2019 · 0 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Rays

Choi celebrates his return./CHUCK MULLER

Tuesday, 4 a.m.

Some nights, the pitching is good enough. Some nights, the offense is good enough.

And some nights, the storylines are even better.

Take Monday night, when a fast start and a strong finish led the Rays to an 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Angels. Stuck in the middle of all the excess, Rays' prospect Nate Lowe -- newly promoted from Triple A -- made his major league debut and wound up with a double and a walk.

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Diaz has produced for Rays./CHUCK MULLER

"It was kind of uncomfortable at first," Lowe said. "It was a  long day getting here. To be able to put a ball on a barrel and run all the way to second is something I feel I can get used to doing a lot here. Some guys coming up talk about they belong in places. Being able to hammer that ball in the gap makes me feel I belong here.  I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds."

Yonny Chirinos pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Rays and gave up two of the three earned runs the team allowed. He ran his record to 4-0 with the win, however.

The Rays' offense got a hit from every player, and the Rays took a 4-0 lead after two innings. Kansas City came close twice, but the Rays continued to score and held on.

Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz each had two hits and drove in two. Tommy Pham had one hit and drove in two.

"It's nice to have Ji-Man back," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "Every game, Yandy is doing something. We're fortunate to have him. His plate discipline is good. He's fearless hitting with two strikes. If he doesn't like his pitch, he'll lay off it until he gets it."

The Rays play the Royals again tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Kaufman Stadium. Blake Snell pitches for the Rays against Kansas City's Jakob Junis.

 

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