TORONTO -- Josh Lowe could have come off the injured list on Tuesday night, rejoining the Rays' lineup for their series opener against the Blue Jays. Considering the frustration he felt when he went down with a right oblique strain on Opening Day, the time he missed and Tampa Bay’s desperate need for more consistency at the plate, who would have blamed him?
But Lowe felt it was important to play two more games for Triple-A Durham on his Minor League rehab assignment. He wanted to find his timing before he had to face Major League pitching. He learned that lesson last year, when his return to the lineup was delayed by injuries and derailed by feeling like he was playing catch-up the rest of the season.
So, Lowe spent Tuesday and Wednesday playing in Rochester, N.Y., then took the roughly three-hour ride to Toronto on Wednesday night. He was ready. With outfielder Travis Jankowski (left groin strain) going on the 10-day injured list, the Rays reinstated Lowe from the IL before Thursday’s series finale at Rogers Centre.
“Last year, just kind of checked boxes just from a health standpoint,” he said. “This year, checked boxes more, like, making sure that I'm ready to go and hit the ground running.”
He did exactly that in the Rays’ 8-3 victory over the Blue Jays. Lowe went 3-for-5 with a solo shot to center field off Kevin Gausman in the fifth inning, part of an excellent overall offensive performance as Tampa Bay won its fourth straight road series.
“I think this is what we could see in plenty of games,” he said. “We've got the talent here to do it. There's no doubt about that.”
Manager Kevin Cash said the Rays will monitor Lowe’s workload now that he’s back in the mix, and Lowe said he will be mindful of how he prepares for games. If anything, he noted, he might cut back on some of the swings he takes in the batting cages or during batting practice. Whatever it takes to stay on the field, he said.
The Rays know what kind of difference-maker Lowe can be when he’s healthy and playing up to his potential. They saw it throughout the 2023 season, when he recorded 3.7 Wins Above Replacement while slashing .292/.335/.500 with 20 homers, 33 doubles, 83 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 135 games.
“It’s something that you really can't put into words,” Brandon Lowe said. “It's fantastic to have him back.”
Josh Lowe’s return atop the order was the highlight on Thursday, but the revival of Brandon Lowe this series was equally important.
The second baseman had multiple hits in each game at Rogers Centre, went 7-for-13 overall and finished the series with a three-hit, two-homer, four-RBI day at the plate. It was his eighth career multi-homer game and his first since May 7, 2022.
The key, he said? His old bat.
In Spring Training, Lowe changed his bat -- the same model, he said, but a different feel. He was pleased with the results it produced in the spring, and his underlying metrics in April suggested he was on the right track despite some poor results.
But something had to give, so Lowe switched back to his old bat halfway through Sunday’s game.
“We stayed the course with it and it finally just got to a point where I was like, 'I'm over the experiment,’” Lowe said. “Let's go back to what's worked previously, and now we're back with old faithful on the bat -- and it seems like that was the right choice to make.”
Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe teamed up to give starter Zack Littell (7 1/3 innings, three runs) an early lead, as the former hit a leadoff single off Gausman before the latter launched a home run to right-center field.
They did it again in the ninth, when Josh Lowe singled to right and Brandon Lowe blasted a Statcast-projected 429-foot shot off the batter’s eye.
“When B. Lowe gets hot, he's one of the hottest hitters in the league, there's no doubt,” Josh Lowe said. “I just thought we did a really good job of playing team baseball today, and everybody's sticking to their strengths, doing what they do best and passing it on.”
Indeed, there were highlights from hitters not named Lowe. Kameron Misner hit his first home run since April 14. Danny Jansen and Chandler Simpson also contributed run-scoring hits. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except Jonathan Aranda, their best hitter all season.
With Josh Lowe back, Brandon Lowe hitting and Yandy Díaz set to come off the restricted list on Friday night, the Rays hope they’re beginning to show what this lineup is capable of at full strength.
“That's kind of what we hope and dream on a little bit,” Cash said. “These guys are talented. I know it's been a little bit of a grind here to start the season, but eventually we've got to turn some things around, and hopefully today was a step in that direction.”