MLB

Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros

· Major League Baseball
Tampa Bay Rays
56-54, 26-25 Away
Final
6 - 1
Houston Astros
57-53, 32-25 Home

Josh Lowe homers twice in the Rays' 6-1 victory over the Astros

Lowe hit his sixth and seventh homers of the season for his second career multi-homer game. His first came off Ronel Blanco, who was a pitch away from escaping the fifth inning with a shutout intact until Lowe turned a 91-mph fastball down the middle 373 feet to right.

“He can be such a big part of us getting our offense going, and today, we saw what he’s capable of,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Blanco was having his way with us up until then, and it seemed like it just gave our dugout a boost that just snowballed from there.”

Rays starter Zack Littell (5-7) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had one walk and one strikeout.

Blanco (9-6) was pulled after the fifth. He allowed two runs, six hits and two walks and struck out seven.

In the seventh, Lowe hit an opposite-field shot that sailed 339 feet into the left-field Crawford Boxes to make it 4-1.

Lowe added a double in the third and a single in the ninth to go 4 for 5 for the first four-hit game of his career.

“In the Miami series, I really think I figured something out with my timing and put my finger on something that I’ve been missing this whole season,” Lowe said. “I just think I was like a half-click too late on some things.”

Yandy Diaz led off the seventh with a 344-foot homer off Astros reliever Tayler Scott for Tampa Bay’s third run, and Brandon Lowe had a two-run single in the ninth to put the Rays up 6-1.

Littell’s only big mistake came on an 87-mph slider in the second inning that Jon Singleton hit over the glove of a leaping Lowe. It was Singleton’s ninth homer of the year.

“I would like the pitch to Singleton back, but I’m happy with it and hung around long enough for our guys to get some runs,” Littell said.

Astros outfielder Pedro León had his first major league hit down the left-field line in the third inning but was thrown out at second trying to stretch it to a double.

Reliever Caleb Ferguson — acquired from the Yankees on Tuesday — allowed four hits and two runs in a two-inning Houston debut.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: CF José Siri made a sensational diving catch in the third inning that had him on the ground for a while afterward. Siri appeared to land awkwardly on the dive and was later hunched over, seemingly in pain. He remained in the game.

Astros: RF Kyle Tucker (shin contusion) is making progress, but manager Joe Espada wouldn’t commit to saying the All-Star would be back by the end of August, only that, “it’s a possibility.” … P Luis Garcia could resume playing catch soon as he slowly works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

UP NEXT

Astros RHP Spencer Arrighetti (4-9, 5.58) was set to start Sunday. RHP Hunter Bigge (0-0, 1.69) will make his first major league start, a week after the Rays acquired him from the Cubs.

How can I watch Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros?
  • TV Channel: Rays at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on FOX.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Astros: 65.6%
Rays: 34.4%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Y. Diaz grounded out to shortstop.
9th Inning Alvarez flied out to right.
9th Inning Bregman popped out to first.
9th Inning Fairbanks relieved Uceta
9th Inning Caballero struck out swinging.
9th Inning J. Lowe reached on infield single to shortstop.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
11 Ground Balls 10
12 Strikeouts 7
6 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
13 Hits 5
1 Stolen Bases 0
3 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 1
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
38 At Bats 30
3 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
14 Runners Left On Base 5
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 1
15 Fly Balls 13
1 Caught Stealing 0
154 Pitches 120
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
24 Total Bases 9
41 Plate Appearances 31
486.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
5 Extra Base Hits 2
8.2 Runs Created 1.1
.342 Batting Average .167
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.632 Slugging Percentage .300
.368 Secondary Average .167
.390 On Base Percentage .194
1.022 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .494
0.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
8.2 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 1.2
51.0 Batter Rating 14.0
12.7 At Bats Per Home Run 30.0
0.50 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.76 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.87
.289 Isolated Power .133
0.25 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.14
.073 Walks Per Plate Appearance .032
.026 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .000
12.0 Runs Produced 2.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.7 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.2
99.5 MLB Rating 67.3
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Minute Maid Park

Location: Houston, Texas
Attendance: 37,328 | Capacity:

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6
Full Standings