Josh Lowe doubled twice, drove in a run and scored in his first career game batting leadoff as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the host Boston Red Sox 7-1 on Wednesday night.
Corey Kluber crafted six shutout innings as the Rays won for the fifth time in six games. Lowe finished 2-for-5 to help Tampa Bay claim the series finale to take two of three from its American League East rival.
Kluber (4-5) kept the Red Sox completely in check throughout his 80-pitch outing, retiring the final 11 batters he faced. He allowed three hits, fanned five and didn’t issue a walk.
Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena homered, doubled drove in three runs and scored twice. Yandy Diaz went 2-for-3 with a double, scored twice and walked two times.
The Rays finished with 10 hits — including five doubles and a homer — and went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
They spoiled the debut of Red Sox top pitching prospect Brayan Bello (0-1), who dominated Triple-A Worcester and Double-A Portland by going 10-4 with a 2.33 ERA in 15 outings (14 starts) for the two affiliates.
Bello, 23, allowed four runs on six hits in four innings. He walked three and fanned two as the Red Sox fell to 2-4 in July.
J.D. Martinez produced an RBI single in the eighth inning to end the Rays’ shutout bid. Trevor Story, Jarren Duran and Franchy Cordero doubled as part of Boston’s six hits.
In the first second-half game of the 162-game season for both teams, Tampa Bay broke through against Bello in the first frame. After Diaz doubled with one out to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, Wander Franco lined the first pitch he saw up the middle for an RBI single.
The Rays tacked on three more in the third. A double to left-center by Arozarena sent home Diaz and Ji-Man Choi, and Kevin Kiermaier pushed it to 4-0 with a double.
Lowe’s second two-base hit — a two-out, run-scoring shot to left-center — off Hirokazu Sawamura was the only hit in a two-run sixth. Sawamura issued three straight walks to force in Lowe for a 6-0 lead.
Arozarena hit a solo homer, his ninth long ball of the year, leading off the ninth.
–Field Level Media