Lowe’s hot streak lifts Rays to another win

by Gary Shelton on May 8, 2019 · 0 comments

in Alabama, general

Lowe hit the first pitch out of the park./JEFFREY S. KING

Wednesday, 4 a.m.

Oh, so that's why they gave Brandon Lowe the contract extension.

Perhaps you looked at Lowe and wondered why. After all, he is just 5-10 and 185 pounds, a normal size guy in a supersized sport.

Still, it took one pitch Tuesday night for the Rays to jump to a lead, and the team held on for a 6-3 victory over Arizona. Lowe now has an 11-game hitting streak, and he's had a .364 average during it. Lowe is hitting .311 for the season and has eight home runs.

Lowe, Willy Adames celebrate Lowe's eighth home./JEFFREY S. KING

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

Kolarek closed out the game for the Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

The Rays led just 2-1 before scoring three times in the seventh and once in the eight. Arizona had two solo homers in the ninth to make it closer.

"There’s a lot of things that he does that help us win," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He’s swinging a hot bat right now. It seems like he comes up in big situations – I know today the leadoff — it seems like he really gets it done in those

Beeks got the win for the Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

big situations. He’s pretty calm. We learned that a lot about him when he struggled right when he came up last year. He stayed calm, stayed consistent, to his credit. You like to see those even-keeled personalities through the ups and the downs.”

Lowe downplayed his success.

“I was just really trying to find a good pitch to hit," he said. "Don’t waste an opportunity when you get it. It's the same approach if I’m hitting leadoff, three-hole, five-hole, nine-hole — wherever it is. Still have the same mindset.”

For the Rays, it was another successful example of the opener strategy. Tampa

Nate Lowe had two hits for the Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

Bay used six pitchers. Jalen Beeks went 3.1 innings for the win.

“There are some times I struggled, obviously, just not getting ahead of guys which is what we preach here," Beeks said. "That was the intent, but I’ve got to do a better job of getting ahead. Something to work on with all four of my pitches. Curveball, just falling behind with it. It was a little frustrating. Glad I got out of it trusting the defense. (Kevin Kiermaier)made a great play. All the way around the diamond guys were making good plays for me. (Mike Zunino) called a good game. We got the win. That’s all that really matters.”

Willy Adames had two hits for the Rays.

We’ve got to find ways to get a couple of guys going. He’s right there at the top of

Kiermaier makes a big catch for the Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

the list. It certainly was good. I really liked the single that he smoked off the wall. He couldn’t get to a double because he hit it so hard. He’s got to be feeling good about tonight’s performance.”

Cash thought it was good to use so many pitchers.

“Got a lot of guys in the game today pitching-wise, so that was good," Cash said. We had some extra days off with rain and all that stuff. It was good to see them. I think some of them probably needed to knock the rust off a little bit, but ultimately good win. Stanek set the tone for us.

The Rays go for a sweep against Arizona today at 1:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. For the Rays, Charlie Morton will pitch against Robbie Ray.

Cash's team is 11 games over .500./JEFFREY S. KING

 

{ 0 comments… read it below or Subscriptions }

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: