HOUSTON -- If you want a reason to believe in the Rays’ recent surge, look no further than the seventh inning of their 13-3 win over the Astros on Thursday night at Daikin Park.
After jumping out to a three-run lead in the series opener, Tampa Bay saw its advantage disappear as Shane Baz gave up three runs in the fifth and sixth innings. But just as quickly as the Astros came back, the Rays put the game out of reach with a five-run blitz.
The Rays have won eight of their last nine games to move multiple games over .500 (29-27) for the first time since they were 4-2 entering play on April 4. Their pitching staff has been on point, and their lineup seems deeper and more confident by the day.
“This lineup, from one to nine, it's very good,” said Junior Caminero, who had three hits and six RBIs. “The pitching, they've been doing a very good job, too. Everything is clicking right now.”
The first six batters in the seventh reached safely against lefty reliever Bryan King, with each one demonstrating why they are key cogs in a lineup that’s recently been more dynamic -- and more dangerous -- than the one that scuffled through the first six weeks of the season.
“It feels like we're doing some good things,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Our offense showed a lot right there to answer right back immediately off a really good pitcher and put up a five spot. You can take one or two right then. Five is pretty outstanding.”
First came Josh Lowe, who smacked a leadoff single to left field. Before Thursday’s game, Cash acknowledged that Lowe has provided “quite the lift” since his return from the injured list. That much is evident in Tampa Bay’s performance before and after his season debut on May 15.
In the club's first 42 games, they were 19-23 while averaging 3.9 runs per game. Since Josh's activation, they’re 10-4, scoring 5.5 runs per game.
“It’s hard to really put it into words just kind of what he's meant as a whole to this team,” said Brandon Lowe. “We’re really happy to have J. Lowe back at 100%, and we're seeing kind of the benefits of it.”
Then came Brandon Lowe, who previously extended his hitting streak to a career-high-tying 12 games with a first-inning single. He was hit by a pitch, moving Josh Lowe to second. Then Yandy Díaz, still swinging a more potent bat than his numbers to this point would indicate, slapped a single through the right side.
Josh Lowe sped around the bases with a maximum sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second and finished with a perfect dive to the plate, beating the throw home to put the Rays ahead.
But the rally didn’t end there. Jonathan Aranda, in the midst of his long-awaited breakout campaign at the plate, pulled a 96.8 mph grounder down the first-base line that Victor Caratini couldn’t handle. The ball slipped into right field for a double, allowing Brandon Lowe to score.
Then, up came Caminero, who was 9-for-23 with six extra-base hits over his last six games following an up-and-down start to the season. The slugging third baseman took three pitches then unloaded on a 91.9 mph fastball down the middle, blasting it out to right-center at 103.5 mph for a three-run homer, his team-high-tying 11th of the season.
“I just feel very good right now,” Caminero said. “I feel that I'm getting close to 100%, so that's very good.”
That marked the end of Tampa Bay’s scoring in the seventh, but it was not the final reminder of why the club believes it possesses a dynamic lineup capable of supporting a pitching staff that has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seventh straight games.
Chandler Simpson singled and stole second, his third steal of the night among the Rays’ five overall. He created chaos on his own in the fourth, turning a leadoff walk into a run thanks to two stolen bases and a throwing error.
“We were just clicking on all cylinders: speed, power, getting guys over, getting the guys in,” Simpson said. “Everybody was just doing their job and handing the baton off, one AB at a time.”
They didn’t let up after that, either, scoring five more runs in the eighth on a trio of doubles by Caminero, Kameron Misner and José Caballero.
In the end, everyone in the lineup had at least one hit -- and plenty of reason to believe there’s more in store.
“Everybody did their part tonight,” Josh Lowe said. “Even though they came back there, we did a great job of regaining momentum and taking the lead back and kind of sticking it to them there with the dagger.”