Lowe finds rhythm on both sides of the ball following IL stint

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Brandon Lowe is “getting healthier and healthier,” a welcome development for the All-Star second baseman and the Rays as the 2025 season wears on.

Now 12 games removed from his latest stint on the injured list for left ankle/foot tendinitis, Lowe feels fully reacclimated at the plate -- something that isn’t always easy.

“Anytime that you come off the IL, no matter if you go out on rehab or whatnot, the game’s a little bit different up here,” Lowe said after Tuesday’s 6-0 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. “It takes a little bit of time to get adjusted and get everything back to the way you were feeling before.”

Lowe couldn’t say for sure when that switch flipped this time around, but his recent performances have made it clear he’s up to speed.

Tuesday was the latest big game for Lowe, who had two of just four Tampa Bay hits, walked and made another fine defensive play. He’s hitting .326 with four home runs and a .990 OPS since coming off the IL on July 30.

“He’s timed up,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It took him a couple days to get his timing back, but he’s starting to see the ball.”

Lowe launched his 23rd home run of the season in Monday’s series opener after three homers in the five games before that. He followed it up Tuesday with a fourth-inning single and a seventh-inning double off A’s starter Jacob Lopez, who was otherwise brilliant with nine strikeouts in seven scoreless frames.

Lowe’s final plate appearance, in the top of the ninth against reliever Tyler Ferguson, was just as impressive. Lowe fell behind 0-2, fouled off two pitches and ended up working a nine-pitch walk to reach base for the third time in the game.

It was just Lowe’s third walk since his return from the IL. The second baseman has a career-low 6.8% walk rate this season, but his ability to be discerning certainly bodes well.

Lowe said retooling plate discipline -- not nursing a stiff muscle or a sore limb -- is the tougher component of returning from injury, and he seems to be getting there.

“I think the biggest thing is just making sure that your eyes get back up to speed, your timing comes back, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “You can handle the pain. You can get through all that kind of stuff.”

Unfortunately, Lowe speaks from experience. He’s been on the IL nine times since his 2018 debut with various injuries -- to his right shin, his lower back, his right triceps, his right knee and both oblique muscles.

Left oblique tightness kept Lowe from playing in the 2025 All-Star Game, but he returned after missing the minimum 10 days. Four days later, he was back on the IL with peroneal tendinitis and fluid buildup in his left foot, missing another 10 days.

Lowe couldn’t say he was at full health when he was activated in late July, but he knows things are getting better by the day.

“You’re never perfect when you come off [of the IL],” he said. “It’s just getting back into it -- getting that scar tissue built back up, I like to say -- and just getting back into the swing of everything.”

The second baseman has shown in recent days he’s definitely back in the swing of things -- and not just with his trademark power.

After a sensational diving stop of a one-hop scorcher up the middle in the third inning Monday, Lowe made another diving play to record an out Tuesday. In the fifth, he laid out to his left to stop a Tyler Soderstrom ground ball from sneaking through the infield and plating another A’s run.

“I want to get up there and give our pitchers everything that I can every single time, because you know they’re up there on the mound trying to give you everything they have,” he said. “That’s just being in the right place and getting a good jump.”

It was a welcome sight for the Rays and for Lowe, whose -11 Outs Above Average entering Tuesday ranked last among 42 qualifying second basemen. Cash said the Rays expect a lot defensively from the two-time All-Star, especially since they know what kind of hitter he can be.

Lowe has shined in both areas lately, and as long as he stays healthy, that’s something the Rays are happy to see.

“The last couple nights, he’s picked us up in a big way,” Cash said.