Wednesday, 4 a.m.
If you have questioned the bats of the Tampa Bay Rays, raise your hand.
You are not alone.
Tuesday night, however, the Rays put together their best offensive show of the season, collecting 17 hits, six walks and taking advantage of two more errors by the Kansas City Royals. The Rays won 14-7, the most runs they've scored all season. The Rays have scored 32 runs in their last four games after a streak of six games with four or fewer.
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The Rays jumped to a 5-0 lead, but the Royals would not go quietly.
"It felt like every time we would get a couple of runs, they'd put together a few hits," said second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Still, the Royals couldn't keep up with the Rays, who won their fifth straight game and are now 10-8 on the season.
“This isn’t the ideal weather to hit in, that’s for sure," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "If we would have bet we were going to come out and do that, some people would be scratching their heads. But we needed it."
“There was a lot to like about the offense from start to finish. The first few runs were a lot of quality at-bats and not helping (Brad) Keller out. We picked up 3-4 walks there."
There were plenty of offensive stars for the Rays. The top three players in the batting order -- Austin Meadows, Randy Arozarena and Joey Wendle -- were a combined nine-for-17. All of them had three hits, and Meadows had a homer. Lowe had two hits, including a homer. Willy Adames had two hits, including a triple.
Mike Zunino also homered.
The Rays jumped to an early lead, but starting pitcher Rich Hill couldn't hold it. After cruising through two innings, he gave up a walk and four straight hits as Kansas City crept within a run.
Andrew Kittredge came on in relief to stop the Royals with the tying run on second base in the third.
The Rays go for their second straight series sweep tonight in Kansas City.
"We’re playing good," Cash said. "We’re pitching well, the offense is getting timely hits and the defense has been outstanding. We’re winning games like we think we’re capable of. It is very encouraging. We’e got to be pleased with the way we're playing and we are."
The Rays will send Michael Wacha to the mound tonight to face Jakob Junis. The game is schedule for 8:10 p.m. at Kaufman Stadium.