Rays rally in 9th for 'a win that we needed'

PHOENIX -- Josh Lowe was due to bat sixth in the ninth inning Wednesday night. With the Rays down by two runs and scoreless after a virtually silent night at the plate, there was no guarantee he would even get a chance to hit. But when Yandy Díaz stepped into the batter’s box to lead off the inning, Lowe already had his helmet and batting gloves on.

“Just ready to go there, no matter what happens,” Lowe said. “If I get up to hit, try to do something to help the team win.”

Lowe did exactly that, capping the Rays’ winning rally with a go-ahead double to left-center field that gave them a refreshing 3-2 win over the D-backs at Chase Field. The victory ensured that Tampa Bay would maintain the Majors’ best record (55-28) and provided a spark inside the clubhouse amid one of the team’s few rough patches this season.

“Really big, especially the way the past few weeks have been going. We haven't really been ourselves and showing much of that right there,” Lowe said. “That was huge, to be in that opportunity and to come up with a hit like that and help us get out a win late in the ballgame against a really good team.”

The Rays had lost six of their last nine games before Wednesday. They’ve either lost or split each of their last four series. The club that fired on all cylinders early on this season suddenly found that wins weren’t coming so easily.

Then came a surprisingly effective performance by D-backs starter Zach Davies, who limited the Rays to two hits -- both off the bat of Díaz -- and two walks over seven innings. Tampa Bay went down in order in the eighth against reliever Miguel Castro, and Arizona was three outs away from securing a series win and spoiling an efficient seven-inning start by Zach Eflin.

But the Rays hadn’t lost faith.

“It’s kind of a win that we needed,” said Eflin, who held the hot-hitting D-backs to two runs while striking out seven.

“I felt like we kept their offense at bay pretty much the whole game, and we weren't doing too much until it mattered most,” Eflin said. “That speaks a lot to just the offense being able to come up big in the ninth inning. It was a fun game.”

It started with Díaz, who put together his fourth performance with at least three hits in his last 11 games. The All-Star candidate led off the inning against reliever Scott McGough with a single to center field. Up came Wander Franco, who hit a comebacker that bounced off McGough then booked it down the line for an infield single. Luke Raley followed with an RBI single to right field, cutting Arizona’s lead in half.

“I'm the type of person that’s always going to say that the game's not over until the 27th out,” Díaz said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “That's exactly what happened tonight.”

Indeed, the Rays were one out away from defeat after Randy Arozarena struck out and Isaac Paredes smashed a 104.6 mph line drive directly at second baseman Ketel Marte. Up came Lowe, who entered the night batting .234 with a .562 OPS and 21 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances this month.

Lowe said he was simply looking for a pitch over the plate that he could hit hard, but he whiffed badly on McGough’s first-pitch splitter. He did not miss the next pitch, a fastball down in the zone, and crushed it 104.5 mph toward the gap in left-center field for a two-run double.

“Really clutch and happy for Josh,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We've got a number of guys that are kind of grinding through it right now. He's probably been one of them, but happy that he came up. He swung through the split, 0-0 pitch, but didn't get off the fastball and put a charge into one to pick us up with obviously the biggest hit of the game.”

Pete Fairbanks handled the ninth inning, benefitting from an excellent diving play by Franco then working around a one-out walk to secure his ninth save of the season. They celebrated like usual afterward, with a mix of relief about the win they’d just pulled off and optimism about what it might mean moving forward.

“I think this is going to be big for us,” Lowe said. “Good moment there, and I think we can kind of take this energy and keep it going.”