Lowe's wild game-tying HR not enough for Rays

PHILADELPHIA -- Taking his first at-bat in four days to lead off the ninth inning Monday night, Brandon Lowe knew he put a pretty good swing on a fastball from Phillies closer Carlos Estévez. But then he saw the same thing as everyone else at Citizens Bank Park: Center fielder Johan Rojas ranging back, leaving his feet and catching the ball near the top of the wall.

Then, Lowe said he noticed “a little white pill drop out,” and the ball rolled around the grass just beyond the center-field fence.

Rojas seemingly robbed Lowe of a homer with his leaping grab just in front of the 409-foot marker at “Monty’s Angle” at Citizens Bank Park, only to drop the ball on the way down after hitting his glove on the top of the lower wall. The ball landed on the other side of the fence for a game-tying pinch-hit home run.

“I'm not exactly sure what happened,” Lowe said afterward. “But I'm sure glad it came out.”

But the Rays couldn’t capitalize on that massive swing of good fortune and positive momentum, as Garrett Cleavinger gave up a two-out bases-loaded walk-off single to Kody Clemens in the bottom half, sending Tampa Bay to a 2-1 loss to the Phillies.

As a result, the Rays fell to 71-73 and remained five games out of the final American League Wild Card spot with 18 left to play.

“I just didn't do a very good job of executing,” Cleavinger said. “For us to tie it up like that and then kind of let it down a little bit, [it] really sucks.”

Battling inflammation in his right middle finger, Lowe hadn’t played since Thursday. He sat out all weekend in Baltimore and he wasn’t in the starting lineup Monday night against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez.

But Lowe swung in the cage and took a round of batting practice on the field Monday afternoon and felt, as he put it, “good enough.” He’ll still have to play through some pain and discomfort, and he had the finger wrapped after the game. But Lowe said he’s in a much better place now than he was over the weekend, so he was called upon to pinch-hit in the ninth inning.

Then, all of a sudden, Lowe delivered his second career pinch-hit home run to tie it up. It just wasn’t immediately clear what happened.

“Thought he caught it,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Rojas did. He said through an interpreter that he lost the ball only when his wrist hit the fence.

“I saw him catch it, honestly. My heart kind of dropped a little bit, and he made one heck of a play,” Lowe said. “Definitely a little gift. … But it was a heck of an effort, and just kind of glad that it got out.”

Lowe said the closest thing he’s experienced to that out-then-over homer was in St. Louis on Aug. 8, when he wasn’t sure if center fielder Victor Scott II robbed him.

“I think this one's a little bit closer of a call than it was in St Louis,” Lowe said. “But if I could stop giving myself heart attacks on the basepaths, we’d be doing a lot better.”

Lowe’s swing was the entirety of the Rays’ offensive production, however, as they were shut down to that point by Sánchez and two relievers. They advanced only one runner as far as second base before the eighth inning, when Junior Caminero went down swinging to strand a pair of runners on the corners.

Coming off a series victory in Baltimore in which they allowed three runs, the Rays were still in the game thanks to some more excellent pitching of their own.

Opener Cole Sulser and lefty Tyler Alexander held the Phillies hitless until Kyle Schwarber smashed a 113.3 mph, 447-foot homer out to right-center field in the sixth, and the bullpen kept it a 1-0 game until the ninth.

“I'm happy with the way we pitched as a team,” Cash said. “Everybody did a really good job right there -- up until the end, where they had some big at-bats.”

But the Rays’ excitement was short-lived. With one out in the ninth, Cleavinger gave up a missile off the wall to Bryce Harper, who only reached first base after he didn’t initially run hard out of the batter’s box. Then came a two-out infield single by Bryson Stott, a walk to Buddy Kennedy and Clemens’ walk-off single to right field.

“I don't think I did a very good job of throwing enough strikes,” Cleavinger said. “It was kind of all over the place, and it's tough to battle back when you're behind like that, especially with good hitters in the lineup. Just creates a tough situation.”