Meadows gives family reason to get 'rowdy'

ATLANTA -- Every time he stepped to the plate Friday night, Austin Meadows could hear his personal cheering section in the stands at Truist Park. The Georgia native had about 100 family members and friends on hand to see his first Major League game in Atlanta, all sitting together, and they were -- as Meadows put it -- “rowdy.”

“That was cool. Being able to see them in the stands, it just was a little bit of an adrenaline pump,” Meadows said. “You just want to do good.”

Meadows delivered the hometown-boy-makes-good narrative in the form of two big hits, including a game-winning single, in the Rays’ 7-6, 10-inning victory over the Braves to open the second half of the season.

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It was a big night for Meadows, who increased his team-leading RBI total to 63 in a special game in front of so many family and friends. And it was an encouraging victory for the Rays, who came back late and reversed their recent luck in extra innings to escape the back-and-forth affair with a 54-37 record.

“There was a little bit of everything in that game. Glad that we found a way to come out on top,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “That win felt really good. Really, really good.”

As well as the Rays played throughout the first half of the season, extra-inning games consistently gave them trouble. They lost nine of their first 12 games that extended beyond regulation, including six straight between the start of June and the All-Star break, before Friday.

Things are already looking up in the second half. The Rays were ahead by two in the second inning, behind by one in the fourth, tied then trailing by two again in the fifth, even again in the eighth and, finally, on top in the 10th thanks to Meadows. Reliever Pete Fairbanks, who was on the wrong end of consecutive walk-off losses a month ago, slammed the door to complete Tampa Bay’s 27th come-from-behind win of the season.

“To battle back like we did,” All-Star infielder Joey Wendle said, “it felt like a big win.”

“That’s just kind of the Rays' way,” Meadows said. “We never quit, and we’re never down.”

Late in the game, Meadows was in the middle of it all. And who better on this night? The 26-year-old left fielder said he was playing in front of family he hadn’t seen since the offseason, and he was particularly pleased to take the field with his grandfather on his dad’s side in attendance.

“That’s something that really puts a smile on my face and means a lot to me, for him to come out and cheer me on,” Meadows said. “It’s definitely special.”

Down 5-3, the Rays rallied for one run in the seventh when Wander Franco hit his first Major League triple and scored on Meadows’ sacrifice fly. But the Braves answered with one of their own on singles by Freddie Freeman, Austin Riley and Orlando Arcia off right-hander Drew Rasmussen. That kept Atlanta’s lead at two.

Then Tampa Bay got even again in the eighth against right-hander Chris Martin. As the inning unfolded, Cash said, hitting coach Chad Mottola repeatedly said, “Get Meadows to the plate.” Brandon Lowe reached on a one-out single to center, Franco smacked a single to left, then up came Meadows, who drove in his 60th run of the season with a single to right field.

“He’s been clutch,” Wendle said. “When there’s runners on, we count and rely on him to drive them in. So far, he’s been very good at it.”

Franco advanced to third on the hit, leaving runners on the corners with two outs for Wendle. He hit a chopper over Martin and hustled out of the box. Shortstop Dansby Swanson scooped up the ball and fired it to Freeman as quickly as he could, but Wendle beat the throw to the bag as Franco dashed home to score the tying run.

“Joey always gets down the line. We're fortunate we've got a group of guys that always do that,” Cash said. “They just bust it right out of the box and put pressure on the defense. … That was a big, big, big moment.”

Right-hander Matt Wisler worked two scoreless innings, using his typically high dosage of sliders to hold off the Braves’ top-of-the-order hitters in the bottom of the ninth and send the game into extra innings. Brett Phillips began the 10th on second base as the automatic runner, Lowe walked, and Jesse Chavez retired the next two hitters to bring up Meadows in another big spot.

Meadows got ahead in the count, then knocked a fastball to right field, driving in Phillips from second. One more reason for his cheering section to get rowdy.

“I told Austin it was one of my favorite games of his all year. We all know he can hit a home run. He can hit extra-base hits,” Wendle said. “But to come up with two big line-drive singles in the spots that he did, I mean, that was a great way for him to start out the second half.”