Lowe gives Rays 'exactly what we needed' with walk-off blast

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays weren’t happy when they left Tropicana Field on Monday night, having suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Orioles. They weren’t particularly pleased with the way Tuesday’s series opener against the Cubs started, either, as they were behind by two runs heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

But they were thrilled with the way the night -- and their losing streak -- ended.

Down by a run in the ninth inning, the Rays staged a dramatic comeback capped by Brandon Lowe’s walk-off three-run homer to escape with a 5-2 victory over the Cubs. What had been another frustrating night turned out to be a sorely needed win for Tampa Bay.

“If you saw how the game was going, you definitely saw a lot of guys getting frustrated -- myself, especially,” said Lowe, who had been 0-for-4 with five runners left on base before his final at-bat. “It felt like one of those must-win games to kind of right the ship a little bit, to get us back on track after a tough series against Baltimore.

“Every win feels good. And this one feels really good, especially after what we went through.”

It was the Rays’ fifth walk-off win of the season -- tied with the Marlins, Orioles, Giants and Mets for the most in the Majors at the conclusion of the game -- and their 18th comeback victory. It was also Tampa Bay’s fourth win of the season when trailing entering the ninth inning, tied with Oakland, Miami and the Mets for most in the Majors.

But it didn’t come easily.

Zach Eflin did his part, putting together another solid start in his second outing back from a two-week stint on the injured list due to lower back inflammation. Eflin allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out three without a walk over 5 2/3 innings, extending his walk-less streak to a franchise-record 153 consecutive batters and 36 1/3 innings.

But the Rays had to come from behind for the seventh time in their past eight wins, as they were silenced for most of the night by Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. The right-hander permitted only four hits and one walk while striking out five over six scoreless innings.

The Rays finally got on the board in the seventh, albeit in unusual fashion. With two outs and runners on second and third, reliever Hayden Wesneski let loose a sweeper that eluded catcher Miguel Amaya, who then kicked it further from home plate. Richie Palacios dashed home from third to cut the Cubs’ lead in half.

“I saw him kick it low-key -- played a little soccer with it,” Palacios said, smiling. “Once he kicked it, I took off.”

Palacios started the Rays’ walk-off rally in the ninth by lining a double to right field off Héctor Neris. Lowe said he thought the ball would get out of the park, immediately tying the game, but Palacios said he was content to get to second “and let the boys come through.”

Ben Rortvedt worked a one-out walk after falling behind Neris, 1-2, which manager Kevin Cash praised as a “really impressive” plate appearance. Up came José Caballero, who had entered the game to play shortstop in the eighth inning. With a runner in scoring position, Caballero said he was hunting one pitch: a fastball over the middle.

Neris’ first-pitch sinker ran in on him, but Caballero still got his hands inside the ball enough to bloop it to shallow center for a game-tying single.

“To sit for as long as he did, to then only think that he's coming in for defense, to get an at-bat off of a closer -- hats off to him,” Lowe said. “That one of the biggest at-bats of the game.”

But Lowe’s, with two outs, was the biggest.

He took three balls and fouled off a pair of splitters to run the count full, then launched the next pitch out to right-center. As the ball cleared the fence, Lowe flexed and shouted toward Tampa Bay's dugout, turning all the Rays’ bat-slamming, helmet-tossing frustration into jubilation.

“It was awesome, and it's exactly what we needed with what we've been going through the past week,” Eflin said. “It was a great way to fire everyone up.”

It was Lowe’s fifth career walk-off plate appearance and his third walk-off homer, with all three coming since the beginning of last season. The Rays hadn’t hit a walk-off homer since Díaz’s game-winner against Seattle last Sept. 9.

This one came at a good time.

“No doubt, we needed a win. It's been frustrating,” Cash said. “Impressed with the way they came at it. They could have gotten really unhappy midway through that game. We couldn't get anything going offensively. But they stayed at it.”