Rays roll a 7 in seventh inning to beat Dodgers
Brandon Lowe hit a go-ahead single, and Avisail Garcia and Kevin Kiermaier added three-run home runs, all in a seven-run seventh inning, as the Tampa Bay Rays ended a brief two-game skid with a 8-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Petersburg, Fla.
In what had been a pitchers' duel through six innings, the Rays finally broke through once Dodgers starter Rich Hill left the game.
Lowe's RBI hit and Garcia's home run came against previously dependable Dodgers reliever Dylan Floro, who had given up just one earned run in his 19 appearances this season.
Max Muncy hit a home run for the Dodgers, while Hill gave up just one run on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings. The left-hander has 17 strikeouts over his last two starts after striking out 14 in his previous three starts.
Tommy Pham hit a home run off Hill in the fourth inning, and by the sixth, the Rays appeared ready to break through. Pham hit a hard comebacker that hit Hill in the glove, only to rebound to catcher Russell Martin, who threw to first base for the out. Ji-Man Choi then hit a comebacker that rebounded off Hill's foot for a single.
In the seventh, the Dodgers went to Floro (1-1), who entered with a National League-leading 0.44 ERA. Floro hit Austin Meadows with a pitch before Guillermo Heredia singled. Lowe drilled his RBI single to right field, and then Garcia homered to right, his eighth of the season.
Kiermaier's home run to center, his fourth, came off Dodgers reliever Caleb Ferguson. Tampa Bay sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh inning.
Ryne Stanek was the Rays' opener and held the Dodgers scoreless over 1 2/3 innings. Yonny Chirinos gave up Muncy's home run in his 3 2/3 innings. Emilio Pagan (1-0), the Rays' fourth pitcher, went 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Rays avoided what would have been just their second losing streak of at least three games. The victory came after the Rays' pitching staff, tops in baseball with a 3.00 ERA through Wednesday's game, had given up 20 combined runs over the previous two games.
--Field Level Media
