B. Lowe's grand slam a reminder of his place among Rays' greats

WASHINGTON -- No matter what happens this offseason, Brandon Lowe will be remembered in Rays history.

Lowe, who has a club option for 2026, hit his fifth career grand slam (all with Tampa Bay) in the Rays’ 7-4 victory over the Nats in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. The win secured Tampa Bay’s sixth series sweep of the season, their fourth on the road and first since June 24-26 against the Royals.

The slam, Lowe’s 28th homer of the year, moved him into a three-way tie for the franchise lead in grand slams (Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena). Lowe already ranks in the top 10 in most offensive categories in Tampa Bay history.

“Good company,” Lowe said.

“We’ve been together a long time,” manager Kevin Cash said. “... Any time you’re in the top 10’s of anything in this organization, you’re doing some special things. And he’s been a special player for us for a very long time.”

On Sunday, Lowe’s slam -- his first since March 29, 2024 -- proved crucial after the Nats brought home a run in the third and three in the fourth to cut into the Rays’ lead. Only one of those four runs was earned, as Tampa Bay committed a pair of errors in the fourth that allowed those runs to score.

And despite getting into some trouble in that frame, Ian Seymour delivered five solid innings. Seymour allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk, with eight strikeouts in just his second start since transitioning out of the ‘pen. In both starts he’s gone five innings and recorded eight K’s.

“I think it boils down to executing before two strikes and executing with two strikes,” Seymour said. “Those are two different sorts of philosophies. So it's throwing the pitches once you are ahead as believable as possible to generate that swing and get the desired result. So yeah, it's -- you always want to have punchouts.”

After the fourth, Tampa Bay was able to keep Washington at an arm’s length through the remaining five innings largely due to Lowe’s long ball. But beyond the final result, that slam put Lowe just two homers away from 30 on the year. If (when) he reaches that mark, it will be the first time he’s hit at least 30 home runs since 2021.

That’s huge for Lowe, who is having his first mostly healthy season since then. He’s already passed his games played total from each of the past three years (107, 109 and 65, respectively), missing time just twice with left oblique tightness (July 8-18) and left ankle/foot tendinitis (July 20-30) -- though he spent the minimum time on the IL both stints.

“A lot more [has gone into it] than I could tell you in the couple of minutes we’re going to be here for the rest of this conversation,” Lowe said. “There’s a lot. I mean, I’m here as early as I can be and working with our training staff. Shoutout to [assistant athletic trainer Mike] Sandoval -- I’m pretty much his guy. … It’s a lot of time in there, in the weight room, and you’re doing stretches, movements, strengthening exercises, everything that’s possible to do. There’s not a whole lot of sitting around waiting for myself when we get here.

“... It’s a lot of time spent working and moving around that people don’t see [before] that couple of hours out there on the field.”

It’s true. The hard work behind games like Sunday’s -- and this hot stretch for Lowe in general (three homers in his past four games) -- is often unseen by the general public and even those covering the team. But the result is undeniable.

The hours in the training room, in the weight room and beyond have coupled with Lowe’s impressive talents to cement his place in club history. But he’s hoping he’s got time to bolster his standing. And who knows, maybe he’ll take the franchise lead for grand slams.

“[There’s] the saying, ‘You don’t know you’re in the golden days until they pass,’” Lowe said. “I think it’s mainly that way because you don’t get that time to sit and reflect. … It’s hard to sit there and take a look at those things as you’re going through it. It’s something that you get to sit and take a look at things [after] they’re done type of thing.

“Hopefully we’re not having a conversation [reminiscing] over the phone next year. It’s -- hope that we’re still having these golden talks here in the clubhouse.”