Nate Lowe hit a solo homer and Texas rookie Kohei Arihara got his first major league victory as the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Game Recap
It started badly early on for the Rays. In the second inning, former Ray Nate Lowe took Chris Fleming deep to left field for his fourth homer of the year. Then in the bottom of the second, the Rays put runners on second and third off a Joey Wendle double to left. With no outs, the Rays would end up leaving both runners on base as Margot would fly out, and then Tsutsugo and Mike Zunino would both go down swinging to end the inning.
The next four innings would be quiet for both teams as neither would score. However, in the sixth inning, the Rangers got a huge chance to break away with the bases loaded and no outs. But luckily, Tampa Bay got out of the inning with no damage done.
But in the seventh, Texas broke the game wide open. David Dahl doubled to right field scoring two runs and giving the Rangers a three-run cushion. Then, Adolis Garcia would hit a two-run triple to give the Rangers a 5-0 lead.
In the ninth, Brandon Lowe hit a homer to deep centerfield. But it wasn’t enough, as the Rangers won 5-1.
Stats
- The sputtering Rays have been held to 13 runs over their past five games.
- Chris Fleming, 24-years-old, yielded one run and four hits over five-plus innings in his season debut.
- The Rays have used seven starting pitchers this season, the most in franchise history through 12 games.
- Kohei Arihara got his first big league win, allowing two singles and a double over 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
Next Up
The four-game series will come to a close when lefty Rich Hill takes the mound to face right-hander Jordan Lyles on Thursday night.