MLB

Cincinnati Reds at Tampa Bay Rays

· Major League Baseball
Cincinnati Reds
50-54, 25-26 Away
Final
0 - 4
Tampa Bay Rays
53-52, 28-28 Home

Jackson, Díaz hit consecutive 5th-inning homers and Rays beat Reds 4-0

Rays pad lead with back-to-back HRs

Jackson, who was 10 for 100 this season going into the plate appearance, hit a 407-foot homer to left on an 0-1 sweeper from Andrew Abbott (9-7) at the bottom of the strike zone, his third home run this season.

“I got something offspeed the pitch before and I felt like I saw it pretty good,” Jackson said. “So, I kind of told myself to be ready for it. I was able to catch it out in front and when I saw it leave the infield I was like: I think I got that one.”

Díaz drove an 0-2 fastball to right-center for his ninth home run. Díaz returned Friday after missing seven games for personal reasons and went 1 for 5 with a single.

Amed Rosario and Brandon Lowe followed with consecutive doubles that chased Abbott, who gave up four runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.

“I made some good pitches, two of them were pretty spot on to where I wanted to go with them, they just put pretty good swings on those,” Abbott said. “You always want to go deep into games, save the bullpen, give the team a chance to win. Unfortunately, the hits just kept on coming in this one.”

Littell (4-7) allowed three hits and matched his season high of seven innings, striking out five and walking one. He had been 0-2 in his previous three starts.

"Nice to see him kind of rebound, bounce back for us,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s been so solid for us all season long, today you can argue maybe one of his better, if not his best outing.”

Tampa Bay has been dispersing players ahead of the trade deadline, sending outfielder Randy Arozarena to Seattle and starting pitcher Zach Eflin to Baltimore. “I haven’t thought about it. Obviously, I know it’s a possibility,” Littell said. “It hasn’t crossed my mind."

Jose Siri hit into a run-scoring forceout in the second. With runners on second and third and one out, shortstop Elly De La Cruz threw to third baseman Noelvi Marte, who tagged Jonny DeLuca. Umpire Edwin Moscoso called DeLuca safe, but the call was overturned in a video review.

A crowd of 23,464 was announced at Tropicana Field, the second-highest this season after 25,025 sellout crowd for opening day.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP Emilio Pagan (right lat strain) threw a bullpen session Friday and is scheduled to throw to hitters Tuesday. He could be scheduled for a rehab start in the first week of August. Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery) is to make his season debut Tuesday against Miami. ... RHP Ryan Pepiot (right knee infection) threw off the mound Saturday and will be evaluated Sunday.

UP NEXT

RHP Hunter Greene (7-4, 3.14 ERA) will start for the Reds in Sunday’s series finale. The Rays will send out RHP Shawn Armstrong as an opener.

How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Tampa Bay Rays?
  • TV Channel: Reds at Rays 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on Bally Sports OH/GL.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Rays: 44.9%
Reds: 55.1%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Candelario grounded out to second.
9th Inning Steer to second on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Friedl flied out to right.
9th Inning Steer walked.
9th Inning De La Cruz grounded out to third.
9th Inning Poché relieved Kelly

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cin.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCIN 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 0
9 Ground Balls 8
5 Strikeouts 5
0 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
4 Hits 8
1 Stolen Bases 0
2 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
0 Runs 4
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
29 At Bats 30
0 Home Runs 2
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
8 Runners Left On Base 15
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 4
15 Fly Balls 18
1 Caught Stealing 1
126 Pitches 150
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 1
4 Total Bases 18
32 Plate Appearances 35
0.0 Projected Home Runs 324.0
0 Extra Base Hits 6
0.0 Runs Created 6.0
.138 Batting Average .267
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.138 Slugging Percentage .600
.069 Secondary Average .433
.219 On Base Percentage .353
.357 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .953
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.4
0.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.8
5.0 Batter Rating 38.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 15.0
0.50 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.94 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.29
.000 Isolated Power .333
0.40 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.80
.063 Walks Per Plate Appearance .114
-.069 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .167
0.0 Runs Produced 8.0
0.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.2 Patience Ratio 0.7
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.3
60.3 MLB Rating 87.3
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Tropicana Field

Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 23,464 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee - 60 L3 0.5744681 81
Chicago 9 69 L1 0.5106383 72
St. Louis 10 70 L1 0.5035461 71
Cincinnati 13.5 74 L1 0.47887325 68
Pittsburgh 14.5 74 W1 0.47142857 66

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Baltimore - 60 W1 0.57746476 82
New York 0.5 60 W1 0.5744681 81
Boston 10.5 70 W1 0.5035461 71
Tampa Bay 12.5 72 L2 0.4893617 69
Toronto 15 75 L4 0.471831 67
Full Standings