Friday, 4 a.m.
On the verge of being swept, Brandon Lowe broke the broom.
Lowe hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to center field in the seventh inning Thursday night to lead the Tampa Bay Ryas to a 6-4 victory. Lowe, who has hit .325 over his last 29 days. Lowe also had a double off the wall.
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It allowed the Rays to avoid a sweep by St. Louis Cardinals and to remain above .500. The Rays are now 58-56.
The Rays were able to win because of their bullpen. Starter Shane Baz was shaky, giving up four runs in 4 1/3innings. But the bullpen pitched 4 2/3 innings of shut out baseball. Pete Fairbanks recorded his 12th straight save and his 22nd of the season.
The Rays are now 44-11 when they score four runs or more.
Ben Rortvedt had three hits for the Rays. Dylan Carlson, a former Cardinal, had a two-run single in the first inning.
The Rays still didn’t take advantage of their opportunities, going two-for-10 with runners in scoring position. For the series, they were three-for-33.
The Rays are home tonight at Tropicana Field against Baltimore at 6:50 p.m. Zack Littell will start for the Rays against former Ray Zach Eflin.