Lowe wins it, homering in 4th straight game

As a Minor Leaguer, Brandon Lowe hit three home runs at Sahlen Field. In just two games in the Majors, Lowe has done plenty of damage in the same ballpark, including a game-winning solo home run in the ninth inning on Sunday in the Rays’ 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Overall, Lowe is one of the hottest hitters in the Majors. With his ninth-inning home run off Blue Jays right-hander Jordan Romano, Lowe has now homered in four consecutive games, becoming the first Ray to homer in four straight since Evan Longoria did it on June 2-5, 2016 against the Twins.

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“He’s definitely on another level,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “He just doesn’t miss his pitch. A lot of times, hitters get in their groove and they’ll have a foul ball in there, but it seems with Brandon right now, everything that he sees and offers at right now, he’s doing big-time damage.”

Lowe has also recorded an extra-base hit in seven consecutive games. The Rays infielder now has 16 extra-base hits this season, the most of any player in the Majors. Since Aug. 1, Lowe is batting .375 (18-for-48) with four doubles, six home runs and 14 RBIs.

Powered by a seven-game hitting streak, during which he’s hit .448 with five home runs and 11 RBIs, Lowe came into the game with a 1.2 fWAR, which led the American League and was fourth in the Majors.

“I feel good,” Lowe said. “Just doing my homework on the pitchers, really. The intent is to hit the ball hard. More base hits come the higher the exit velo is off the bat. I want to hit the ball hard. I want to do damage.”

Aside from Lowe’s heroics, the Rays’ pitching staff did a solid job of limiting the damage against the Blue Jays offense after play resumed on Sunday. Jalen Beeks was the pitcher on the mound on Sunday, and the left-hander had some mixed results, but was able to provide enough length to hand it over to the back end of the bullpen. Beeks pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned).

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Pete Fairbanks was stellar in his outing, especially getting out of a crucial jam in the sixth. The Blue Jays had runners on second and third with one out, but the right-hander got Brandon Drury on an 88-mph slider. Fairbanks let out a very audible “let’s go!” as he walked back to the dugout.

With Andrew Kittredge, Oliver Drake and José Alvarado on the injured list, the Rays will rely on Fairbanks more over the next couple of weeks.

“That was big,” Cash said. “Our relievers, all of them, did a tremendous job of keeping it right there -- whether we were up one or tied throughout the game -- they did a really good job. Fairbanks is a guy that we’re going to continue to lean on. He has big-time stuff, and he’s going to get more confidence as he goes pitching in that role, but we're going to go to him in a lot of those roles going forward.”