Sunday, 4 a.m.
If you follow the Tampa Bay Rays, you are aware that they don't hit enough, particularly in the late stages of a game.
And the resounding response this morning is "so what?"
The Rays managed to score two eighth-inning runs without a hit Saturday night, coming from behind to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-3. It snapped a two-game losing streak (and a four-game losing streak at home).
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.
The Rays scored their go-ahead runs on two walks, an error on a hard-hit ball by Manuel Margot and a ground out. Margot's ball went through the legs of third baseman Cavan Biggio. He scored on Kiermaier's ground ball even though the infield was drawn in.
"Manny comes up, squares a ball and they had the infield pinched in, maybe trying to cover for a bunt, and Manny smoked it," Rays manager Kevin cash said. "I don’t know if (Biggio) had been all the way back he makes that play. (Margot) hit it right on the screws. To add that second run was huge. Manny got a great jump, a great read. K.K. hits it really hard. They couldn’t even get a throw off ; it just shows you how good a jump he got."
For the second straight night, the Rays fell behind on a three-run homer in the first. This time, however, they came from behind to win for the fourth time this season, tying it in the sixth inning on a two-run homer by big-moment hitter Mike Brosseau.
Brosseau, a star of last-season's playoffs, launched a two-run homer to tie the game in the sixth. The Rays had fallen behind on a blast by Randal Grichuk in the first.
Perhaps the star of the game, however, was Ryan Yarbrough, who came on in the second inning and pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball.
"He was outstanding," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "He comes in, holds it right there, just bought us a lot of time. We were having fits with (Robbie) Ray. He was really tough, and Yarbs went toe-to-toe with him. He just quieted their offense to allow us to get bak in the game."
Brousseau's homer tied the game in the sixth.
"Impressive in that Bross’s first two at-bats, Ray kind of had his way with him," Cash said. "Bross didn’t get frustrated. He went up there and got a pitch he could handle. We've kind of known for a while that he comes up with some big hits, and tonight was another big one."
For the Rays, reliever Ryan Thompson got the win and Andrew Kittredge got the save.
The Rays play the Blue Jays again today at 1:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Josh Fleming will pitch for the Ray against Hyun Jin Ryu.