Saturday, 4 a.m.
Sometimes, you have to sneak up on home plate.
For the Tampa Bay Rays, it doesn’t matter. After the kind of skid they’ve been on, any victory beats the alternative.
The Rays found creative ways to score throughout a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. They scored on an error. They scored on a defensive interference play. They scored on a bases-loaded walk. Oh, yeah. They scored on a solo home run by Brandon Lowe.
Again, after a blown 7-6 loss to Philadelphia, it was a preferred way to finish.
The Rays were tied 3-3 in the eighth inning when they collected singles by Christopher Morel and Junior Caminero. After that, Jansen and Walls both walked on 3-2 pitches to force in the winning run.
In the sixth inning, Caminero was on first and Morel on third. in a botch steal attempt, Morel was interfered with by Brewers’ third baseman Caleb Durbin.
The Rays’ first run came when Jose Caballero singled to right field. The ball skipped past outfielder Jackson Chourio, allowing Walls to score from first base.
The Rays had just seven hits and left seven on base. They were 0-11 with runners in scoring position.
Starter Zack Littell went six innings and gave up one earned run. Eric Orze earned his second save.
Caminero had two hits for the Rays. Tampa Bay is 17-21 on the season.
The teams play again today at Steinbrenner Field at 4:10 p.m. Taj Bradley will start for the Rays against Tobias Myers.