Saturday, 4 a.m.
Theirs were the missing bats. Of all the slumping Tampa Bay Rays’ batters, it would have been easy to point to the slow starts of Josh Lowe and Jose Siri as primary reasons for the team’s slow start.
On Friday night, they reminded you of what they are supposed to be.
A year ago, Lowe was one of the Rays’ brightest stars, hitting 20 home runs. This year, injuries had limited him to just three … until Friday night. Lowe hit two home runs and drove in four to lead the Rays to a 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh.
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Siri? He had 25 homers a year ago. This year, he has just nine. But he had three hits and two highlight-reel catches in center field.
Together, the two had six hits, not bad for a pair hitting .225 (Lowe) and .214 (Siri). Together, they have helped to thicken the Rays’ batting order and, lately, their offensive improvement.
In their last five games, the Rays have 34 runsy and 54 hits. They’ve won four out of five.
Catcher Ben Rortvedt also had three hits, one of them a three-run homer. Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena each had two hits.
Rays’ starter Ryan Pepiot started well, but he ran into trouble in the fourth and lasted just 3 1/3 innings. Pepiot left the game with the bases loaded, but reliever Colin Poche induced a double play on one pitch to get out of the inning.
The Rays’ bullpen went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two hits and one run.
The Rays will face Pittsburgh again today at 4:05 p.m. Zach Eflin will start for the Rays against Jared Jones.