MLB

Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays

· Major League Baseball
Kansas City Royals
34-20, 13-12 Away
Final
1 - 4
Tampa Bay Rays
26-28, 15-17 Home

Brandon Lowe hits a 3-run triple as the Rays stop the Royals' 8-game win streak with a 4-1 victory

The Rays had lost a season-high six straight.

“To get a win that way, to show up in those high stress situations, it feels good and I feel like it really ignites everybody around it," Lowe said.

Kansas City's Michael Wacha (4-5) lost his perfect-game bid in the sixth, and was pulled after Harold Ramírez singled and Isaac Paredes had a double to start the seventh. John Schreiber then hit Randy Arozarena and permitted a fielder’s choice grounder before Lowe delivered on the first pitch he saw.

It was Lowe's second hit in 17 at-bats since returning from a strained right oblique.

Garrett Cleavinger (4-0) got three outs for the win, and Pete Fairbanks handled the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

Batting with the bases loaded, Bobby Witt Jr. bounced to second for the final out of the game.

“It was a good ballgame," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Really well pitched game. They came up with a big hit when they needed it, and we fought back and just came up a little bit short.”

Wacha retired his first 15 batters on 54 pitches before José Caballero grounded a leadoff double down the third base line in the sixth. After a strikeout and grounder, Yandy Díaz drew a 10-pitch walk before Wacha struck out Jonny DeLuca to complete a 33-pitch inning.

“Those are always tough decisions," Quatraro said about sending Wacha back out for the seventh. "Some of them work. Some of them don’t. That one stings because it didn’t.”

Witt extended his hitting streak to nine games and put the Royals up 1-0 on a sixth-inning homer off Rays reliever Shawn Armstrong. He has homered four times in his last five games.

Witt was thrown out by Arozarena when he tried to score from second in the eighth on Salvador Perez’s one-out single to left.

“Look, we don’t get an out right there that rally just keeps going,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Tampa Bay’s Taj Bradley allowed Adam Frazier’s opposite-field flare single to left in the second and walked three over five innings. After a pair of two-out walks in the fifth, the right-hander fanned Maikel Garcia for his sixth strikeout on his season-high 95th pitch.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Kyle Isbel has a small nose fracture to go with facial lacerations after fouling a ball off his face Saturday, but he avoided going on the 10-day injured list. “He’s very fortunate because the ball grazed the bat, grazed the helmet and (then) hit him,” Quatraro said. “But nothing that needs any time other than just the swelling to go down and get him back out there.” ... INF Michael Massey (lower back sprain) went on the 10-day IL.

Rays: Opening-day starter Zach Eflin (lower back inflammation) has resumed playing catch.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Alec Marsh (4-1, 2.72 ERA) and Minnesota RHP Joe Ryan (3-3, 3.15 ERA) are Monday’s starters.

Rays: RHP Zack Littell (2-2, 3.42 ERA) is scheduled to start on Tuesday night against Oakland.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays?
  • TV Channel: Royals at Rays 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Rays: 46.8%
Royals: 53.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Witt Jr. grounded out to second.
9th Inning Garcia reached on infield single to second, Hampson to second, Fermin to third.
9th Inning Hampson singled to right, Fermin to second.
9th Inning Loftin flied out to left.
9th Inning Fermin walked.
9th Inning Frazier fouled out to third.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/kc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
1 Hit By Pitch 1
10 Ground Balls 9
8 Strikeouts 8
1 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
7 Hits 6
0 Stolen Bases 1
4 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
1 Runs 4
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
33 At Bats 30
1 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
14 Runners Left On Base 13
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 2
15 Fly Balls 13
0 Caught Stealing 0
149 Pitches 136
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 3
0 Pinch Hits 1
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
11 Total Bases 10
38 Plate Appearances 33
162.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
2 Extra Base Hits 3
3.8 Runs Created 3.0
.212 Batting Average .200
.000 Pinch Hit Average .333
.333 Slugging Percentage .333
.242 Secondary Average .233
.316 On Base Percentage .273
.649 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .606
0.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.7
4.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 3.4
16.0 Batter Rating 29.5
33.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.92 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.12
.121 Isolated Power .133
0.50 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.25
.105 Walks Per Plate Appearance .061
.030 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .033
2.0 Runs Produced 8.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.4
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.3
71.8 MLB Rating 76.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Tropicana Field

Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 20,789 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland - 69 L2 0.5714286 92
Kansas City 6.5 76 W1 0.5308642 86
Detroit 6.5 76 L2 0.5308642 86
Minnesota 10.5 80 L4 0.50617284 82
Chicago 51.5 121 W2 0.25308642 41

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York - 68 W1 0.5802469 94
Baltimore 3 71 W3 0.5617284 91
Boston 13 81 W1 0.5 81
Tampa Bay 14 82 L1 0.49382716 80
Toronto 20 88 L3 0.45679012 74
Full Standings