Brandon Lowe Blasts Walk-Off Homer in Extras to Lift Tampa Bay Rays to Victory
Thanks to second baseman Brandon Lowe's clutch display of power Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Rays are back in the win column.
Tampa Bay had dropped three of its last four, including Monday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox. The Rays were on the verge of losing yet again, with the second game of the midweek divisional series going to extra innings.
Boston even took a lead in the 11th when second baseman Luis Urias popped up to Lowe, only for the veteran infielder to drop the over-the-shoulder catch and allow the man on third to come in to score.
Lowe more than made up for that blunder when he stepped into the batter's box in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of third baseman Yandy Diaz's leadoff walk in a major way.
Facing a 2-2 count, Lowe got a hold of closer Kenley Jansen's 95-mile-per-hour cutter and blasted it deep to right. There was a bit of suspense around whether or not the ball would stay fair, but it just managed to wrap around the foul pole as Lowe tossed his bat and yelled back at his own dugout.
Lowe bounced his way to home plate, getting showered in popcorn, Gatorade and water by his teammates as they celebrated Tampa Bay's dramatic 8-6 victory.
Lowe is now batting .233 with 18 home runs, 61 RBI and a .768 OPS this season.
The series finale between the Rays and Red Sox is scheduled to get underway at 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The AL East rivals will meet two more times this regular season – back at Fenway Park on Sept. 26 and 27.
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