Rays explode late to beat back Tigers

by Gary Shelton on August 8, 2022

in general

Monday, 4 a.m.

For most of Sunday afternoon, there wasn't much to talk about with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Oh, you could debate why Kevin Cash pulled Drew Rasmussen after three innings of no-hit baseball.

You could argue which Rays' reliever was the best.

You could argue which Rays’ hitter was the worst.


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You could wonder if either of these offenses was ever going to score.

Then came the ninth inning, when the Rays put on a fireworks show. They had five hits and three walks in the inning and scored a touchdown to take a 7-0 victory and the series from Detroit.

It was like a slow-moving movie filled with special effects in the final reel. For 8 2/3 innings, the Rays had no runs and five hits. And then no one was going to make an out.

Yu Chang and Yandy Diaz both walked with the bases loaded. Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena both had two-run doubles. And the Rays ended up winning easily, 7-0.

“I was really impressed," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "(Tigers’ reliever Gregory) Soto is really good, really tough. We got on base with two hits then we showed a lot of patience with Siri, Chang and Yandy.  Then B-Lowe came up with a big hit. You try to do a lot in those situations; it’s not easy to lay off first pitches. We laid off a couple of close ones. It was a fun inning."

According to Cash -- and Rasmussen -- the plan all along was for Rasmussen to have a short afternoon that turned into a bullpen day for the Rays. It worked. Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Pete Fairbanks, Colin Poche and Shawn Armstrong combined to finish a three-hit shutout.

"The irony is that he was so efficient," Cash said. "He’ll be that much more efficient his next time out."

The Rays have a day off today. They play in Milwaukee on Tuesday night at 8:1`0 p.m. The Rays have not announced their starter yet, but the Brewers will start Brandon Woodruff.

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