Late home runs lead to a sweep by Rays

by Gary Shelton on August 17, 2020

in general

Willy Adames did a Lowe impression./CHUCK MULLER

Monday, 4 a.m.

Willy Adames is a huge fan of teammate Brandon Lowe's.

After Sunday, we may assume that Lowe is a huge fan of Adames, too.

Together, the middle infielders powered the Rays to two close victories over the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday in Buffalo. Lowe hit a home run in the ninth inning to lead the Rays to a 3-2 win in the resumption of a suspended game, and then Adames hit a two-run homer to lead the Rays to a 7-5 comeback victory in the second game.





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The wins improved the Rays' record to 14-9 on the season.

For Lowe, the first-game homer was the fourth straight game in which he went long.

"It’s been fun to watch what he’s doing," Adames said. "It’s incredible, man. I tell him every time, 'Man you’re the best.' You’ve got to keep it up. You have our team on your back. He’s killing it man. I’m just happy for him and for the team too.”

The Rays led the first game 1-0 when it was suspended Saturday, but the game was tied 2-2 when Lowe came up in the ninth.

"I'm just trying to hit the ball hard," he said.

Lowe homered off  Jordan Roman. He also doubled in the seventh.

Lowe became the third player in Rays history with a streak of at least eight games with an extra-base hit, joining two players who had nine-game strings: Evan Longoria  in 2009 and Wilson Ramos in 2018. Lowe's 16 extra-base hits lead the American League.

In the nightcap, the Rays fell behind 2-0, then rallied on a three-run homer by Yoshi Tsutsogo for the lead. However, the Jays pulled ahead 5-3 before the Rays came back. It was their eighth come-from-behind win of the year.

"We don’t quit," Adames said. "We compete until the end, and that’s what we do.”

Cash was pleased with Adames, too.

"I was  impressed Willy was ready to hit," Cash said. "He was ready to go at the right time and he got every bit of it to right center.  We didn’t play our best today. We did enough to win and we took advantage of some mistakes. Good teams do that. "


The Rays now move to New York to start a series against the Yankees on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Blake Snell will start for the Rays. The Yankees have not announced their starter.


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