Rays Tie MLB Record With Homers in 20 Straight Games, Beat White Sox on Walk-Off
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have been so good all season that even on the nights they stink — which isn't very often — they still find a way to win thanks to the long ball.
The Rays batted in the bottom of the ninth for the first time all season Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. They closed out the game in style, getting a solo home run from catcher Christian Bethancourt and a walk-off winner from Brandon Lowe to win 8-7.
Thanks to Lowe's two-run shot, the Rays are now 17-3 on the season, and have homered in all 20 games, tying the major-league record set by the Seattle Mariners in 2019. Tampa Bay has hit 45 homers, the second-most ever in the first 20 games, behind only the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals, who hit 47.
Lowe, who has six homers already this season, hit his first-ever walk-off homer, a shot that barely cleared the right-field wall off of White Sox closer Reynaldo Lopez
“It's pretty great. It's an awesome feeling,” Lowe said. “I think this might be [the] first walk-off homer of my life, honestly. It's always awesome.
“I didn't square it up perfectly, like I feel like I do when I hit home runs. It was one of those I was kind of willing to go out,” Lowe said. “I was, like, praying that it was gonna go.”
The Rays had an early 4-0 lead, with Harold Ramirez getting the homer streak out of the way in the first inning with a two-run shot, but then the Rays' pitching staff imploded, unable to throw strikes and get outs. Opener Calvin Faucher gave up three runs and five hits in the second inning, and reliever Jalen Beeks walked five of the seven batters he faced in the third inning when the White Sox took the lead without even putting a ball in play.
They led until the ninth inning, ahead 7-5 heading into the final frame. But Bethancourt and Lowe went deep, and the Rays had another home run. They've started the season 11-0 at home.
“We kept saying, 'We’ve got to play 27 outs,'” Bethancourt said. “We’ve got to keep the line going, play 27 outs and things are going to happen, and we got it going.”
The two teams meet again on Saturday, with a pitching matchup for the ages. Tampa Bay ace Shane McClanahan (4-0, 1.57 ERA) will take on Chicago star Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.01 ERA). The game starts at 4:05 p.m. ET and is being nationally televised on FOX.
