CHICAGO -- The Rays made two trades with the White Sox at the July 31 Trade Deadline. The main one was receiving Adrian Houser in exchange for three young players. The other was a Minor League trade for Tristan Gray.
Both acquisitions played a key role in Tuesday night’s 5-4 win over the White Sox at Rate Field, as Houser recorded a season-high nine strikeouts and Gray launched a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh to break a 4-4 tie.
With the win, the Rays (72-72) moved back to .500 and kept them 4 1/2 games behind the Mariners (77-68) for the third American League Wild Card spot.
“Being able to be in this spot to try to play for the postseason, this is what you’re here for,” Houser said. “I can’t be more excited for it.”
Houser was as good as he has been for Tampa Bay this season. After giving up a solo shot to the second batter he faced, the 32-year-old went 14 straight batters without allowing a hit until White Sox center fielder Brooks Baldwin’s fifth-inning triple bounced out of Josh Lowe’s glove as he hit the fence in right field.
During that 14-batter stretch following the home run until the triple in the fifth, Houser’s stuff was untouchable. Only two batters reached base (error and fielder’s choice), and the punchouts were starting to rack up.
Houser struck out eight batters during this span, which included six straight at one point. Two notable punchouts came against lefty Colson Montgomery and switch-hitter Edgar Quero. Both hitters battled, fouled off several pitches, and appeared to be seeing Houser’s stuff well.
But in both at-bats, Houser trusted his sinker to get the job done. He perfectly placed his sinker inside on both left-handed hitters, and neither Montgomery nor Quero even offered at the pitch as they both went down looking.
“I was just out there, locked in, and just going with [catcher Hunter Feduccia],” Houser said of the six straight strikeouts. “He and I were just one pitch after another, just trying to stay locked in and keep the score where it was at.”
Although Houser allowed a couple of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, this was one of his better starts in a Rays uniform. He logged 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball.
“We've obviously seen him here and what he's been able to do,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “He was great. I think he did his thing and found some spots in the zone that he could attack and made it really tough on us. This was one of those nights where you kind of get beat by a starting pitcher and we know that Adrian is a really good one."
Houser did his job to keep Tampa Bay in the game, and Gray eventually came through in a big spot in the seventh. The 29-year-old turned on a 92.2 mph fastball and launched it a Statcast-projected 397 feet to put the Rays in front for good.
“It was great,” closer Pete Fairbanks said. “It was a great swing. It was one of the ones where you look up and you’re like, ‘Oh man, he got that one.’”
It has been a wild few seasons for Gray, who has bounced around from teams since 2023. He spent time with both the Marlins and Athletics last season before being picked up by the White Sox this offseason.
Gray didn’t appear in any games for Chicago this season, but he was with the Major League club for one day in July. A few weeks later, the 29-year-old was back in the Tampa Bay organization.
“He’s come up with some big hits, made some big plays for us,” manager Kevin Cash said. “I appreciate Tristan Gray and what he’s been through in his career to this date. He’s a good player, and he came up big for us today.”
Gray’s game-sealing home run is one that he might remember for a long time. While he doesn’t see consistent playing time, he delivered in a big spot for a team that has playoff aspirations.
“We’re all pretty excited,” Cash said of Gray’s homer. “I’m sure that clubhouse is roaring right now because of how respected he is [and] how well liked he is as a teammate. You want to see him have success.”