Tuesday, 3 a.m.
Nate Lowe's pretty good at hitting home runs. He may be better at handing out nicknames.
Lowe was on the field ding a oct-game interview when Tampa Bay's pitchers of the night began to file past him on their way to the dugout.
"Here they are," he said, grinning. "the Zero Factory."
Like most nights, it seemed to fit on Monday night. The Rays had sent a half-dozen pitchers at the New York Mets, and together, they were just enough to beat the New York Mets and ace Jacob deGrom in a 2-1 game.
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The Rays can lock up their first division crown since 2010 with a win Tuesday or a loss by the Yankees against Toronto. Tampa Bay leads New York by 4 1/2 games with six days left in the regular season.
As it has often this season, the bullpen was the highlight of the night for the Rays. They threw six pitchers -- Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Thompson, Josh Fleming, Diego Castillo, Ryan Sherriff and Nick Anderson -- who held the Mets to one run on only four hits.
“Outstanding effort by everyone involved," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "They (the Mets) can hit. They’ve got a bunch of guys throughout their lineup who are having solid seasons. For us to do a that, we have to be on. Every guy that was called on did good job."
Together, their eight strikeouts weren't close to deGrom's 14, but deGrom gave up a sacrifice fly to Manuel Margot and a solo homer to Lowe.
Speaking of Lowe, Cash said: "Day-by-day and at-bat-by-at-bat, he’s showing comfort. Nate has probably checked every single box you can in the minors. Now he’s getting at bats in the big leagues, and he’s checking those boxes too.”
The Rays play the Mets again tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field. Blake Snell starts for the Rays against Seth Lugo.