Monday, 4 a.m.
In the land of quiet bats, there is Brandon Lowe.
Finally, someone from the Tampa Bay Rays made a little noise on offense.
Perhaps you have forgotten about Lowe, who made the All-Star team as a reserve last year, who was a bright enough prospect to get a six-year contract extension from a team that squeezes nickels. But maybe, after this, his name will be easier to remember.
Lowe hit a two-run triple in the eighth inning to shake up the Rays and lead them to a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon. The Rays had only two hits prior to that inning, and only seven in two days. They are now only two-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
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But Lowe made you forget all about that. Lowe, a notorious fastball hitter, jumped on a changeup from Toronto's Sam Gaviglio to break a 1-1 tie. Lowe scored on a balk to finish the scoring. Lowe had been 0-for-9 against Gaviglio
“I’m 1-1 (this year)," Lowe said. "I could care less about 0-9"
Cash warned the Lowe would have to adjust to seeing off-speed pitches.
"Brandon made a really good adjustment," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "He's proven to the league that he can really hit a fastball. He’s going to have to make an adjustment to handle some offspeed pitches in the zone. "
Said Lowe: “Honestly, it’s a game of adjustments. I'll just keep working."
The Rays' pitching was very good, led by starter Ryan Yarbrough, who allowed just four hits and no runs in 5 1/3 innings.
"He was outstanding," Cash said. "He could have kept going more. We felt we had some guys available I thought Yarbs was awesome."
The Rays go for the series win today against Toronto at Tropicana Field. Blake Snell will pitch for the Rays against Thomas Hatch in a 3:10 start.