Rays Stay Hot at Home, Beat Blue Jays 3-1 on Lowe, Mead Home Runs

TAMPA, Fla.

During this recent postseason run, the Tampa Bay Rays always seem to be at their best when the streaky Brandon Lowe is on fire.

The eight-year veteran is in the midst of a hot streak again, and the Rays are reaping the benefits.

Lowe hit a two-run home run in the third ining Friday night, and Curtis Mead who is on his own mini-heater followed with a solo shot in the fourth.

That was all the Rays needed to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 at Steinbrenner Field because Drew Rasmussen pitched another gem.

Lowe's blast was his ninth homer of the season and the 135th of his career.

He's been hitting the ball great since May 13, the first game of a Rays-Jays series in Toronto.

He was hitting just .190 on the season that morning, but in the 10 games since, he's hit safely in nine of them, batting 13-for-37 a .351 average with four homers and nine RBIs.

His average is up to .224 now.

That early season slump? It seems to be gone these last two weeks.

He's just looking a little bit more like himself, that's for sure, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.

Weve been together a long time, and Ive seen him go quiet for a couple series on end, but then get hotter than anybody in baseball.

He can definitely carry us, and I hope thats the thought that hes starting to see the ball.

There are a lot of really good signs coming from him.

The Rays, who are 24-26 at the 50-game mark, won at home for the third straight game, a positive sign in their temporary home after going just 3-13 before then.

It's helped, too, that youngster Curtis Mead has added some punch to the lineup.

He hit a home run in back-to-back days for the first time in his career, and has hit safety in six straight games.

He had only two homers in his first 270 at-bats before going yard on Wednesday against Houston and again on Friday after an off day.

Mead, like Lowe, had been off to a rough start.

He was hitting just .151 on May 8, but during this six-game hitting streak, he's 7-for-18 a .389 average and has helped the Rays get better against left-handed pitching.

Lefty Eric Lauer took the loss for Toronto, who's now 25-25 on the season, a game ahead of the Rays in the American League East race.

Drew Rasmussen picked up the win for Tampa Bay, pitching six scoreless innings and allowing just four hits on 76 pitches.

He's won his last two starts, and his ERA is down to 2.60, 16th-best in the majors.

The Rays' bullpen made the sellout crowd at Steinbrenner Field sweat out the outcome, though.

Mason Montgomery came in to pitch the seventh inning but could not find the strike zone and walked three straight batters.

Cash quickly went to Manuel Rodriguez, who got a double play ball and a fly out to center, avoiding potential disaster with just the one run scoring on the double play.

Edwin Uceta pitched the eighth, but walked two batters as well.

He got Alejandro Kirk to ground out, though, ending the inning with no harm done.

Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth, and walked Anthony Santandar with two out, but struck out right fielder Nathan Lukes to end the game.

It was his ninth save of the year.

The eight walks were a season-high for Tampa Bay.

The two teams meet again on Saturday night.

Shane Baz (3-3, 5.33 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay.

Jose Berrios (1-1, 4.19 ERA) will start for Toronto.

Berrios has made 10 starts this season, but hasn't been a part of a decision since April 7..

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