J. Lowe blasts 2 homers, proving what he's 'capable of doing'

HOUSTON -- Timing has been a problem for Josh Lowe all season.

There was the timing of his injuries, first of all. He was sidelined in Spring Training due to left hip inflammation and a right oblique strain, and his season debut was pushed back to May 6 due to right hamstring tightness. Not even a month later, he was back on the injured list with a recurrence of his oblique injury.

And there was his timing at the plate. Lowe said he’s been “a half-click late” all year, a minor issue that has led to a major dip in his offensive production.

But now, maybe Lowe is finding his timing at the right time.

Lowe enjoyed a career day in the Rays’ 6-1 win over the Astros on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park. He racked up a career-high four hits and had a career-best three extra-base hits during his second career multihomer game, helping the Rays climb back to two games above .500 at 56-54.

“We need him to get hot and stay hot for the remainder of the season. He's such a big part of us getting our offense going,” manager Kevin Cash said. “And today we saw certainly what he's capable of doing.”

Lowe’s only previous two-homer performance came in Pittsburgh on June 21 … which was also the last time Lowe hit a home run, period. It’s been that kind of year for the talented 26-year-old outfielder.

There have been encouraging moments for Lowe since his injury-delayed start to the season, but hardly the kind of production the Rays anticipated from someone who typically hits in the middle of the order.

And it’s not what Lowe expects of himself, either.

“It's been tough. I'm so grateful to be where I am right now and have the opportunity to go out and play baseball,” Lowe said. “I'm very humbled just to get the opportunity every single night. But it's hard. You battle through it every single day.”

But Lowe has continued to work, and he believes it’s finally paying off. He said he “kind of put my finger on something that I’ve been missing this whole season” during the Rays’ two-game series against the Marlins earlier this week. He watched video and experimented in the batting cage with hitting coaches Chad Mottola and Brady North, doing everything he could to get his timing right.

It started to click against Miami the series prior, as he went 4-for-9 with a pair of doubles and a walk. It really showed up Saturday night.

“I was seeing pitches well, but this is a game of millimeters and milliseconds, right?” he said. “You just mis-hit a ball or you're just a touch late, and it's the difference between a home run and a foul ball.”

Last year, Lowe started off hot and never really cooled down. There were slumps and slow stretches during his breakout 2023 campaign, of course, but he hit .292/.335/.500 with 20 homers, 33 doubles, 83 RBIs and 32 steals as one of the most valuable players on a 99-win team.

This season has not gone nearly as smoothly for Lowe or the Rays, but they know he’s still got that game-changing potential in him.

“We saw it a lot last year and you see flashes of it already this year, but Josh has got all the talent in the world,” said starter Zack Littell, who held Houston to one run on four hits over 5 2/3 strong innings. “He's an easy guy to kind of fall behind when he gets going. You get him, [Brandon Lowe] and Yandy [Díaz], and even [Christopher] Morel at the top of the lineup starting to heat up, it's going to be fun.”

Díaz hit an opposite-field homer off reliever Tayler Scott in the seventh inning. Brandon Lowe put the game out of reach with a two-run single in the ninth. Littell was excellent for a second straight start, and right-handers Manuel Rodríguez and Edwin Uceta formed the bridge to closer Pete Fairbanks.

But Josh Lowe had the two biggest hits of the game. He ripped a go-ahead two-run blast off Houston starter Ronel Blanco in the fifth inning, smashing an 0-2 fastball out to right field with an exit velocity of 107.3 mph.

In the seventh, Lowe lofted a 2-0 fastball out to left field, landing just over the Crawford Boxes. According to Statcast, the 339-foot fly ball would have been a homer in just one of the 30 Major League ballparks.

Fortunately, it was the one the Rays were playing in Saturday night.

“I don't know if that's going out anywhere else,” Lowe said, grinning, “so it's good timing.”