Rays Hit 4 Home Runs, Chase Astros Ace Hunter Brown Early in 8-4 Win

TAMPA, Fla. — The pregame storyline for Wednesday's series-ending matinee between the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays was that Taj Bradley was going to have to be spot on with Hunter Brown as his counterpart. Brown's only been the best right-handed starter in baseball so far in 2025.

So there was major reason for concern for Rays fans right out of the gate. Bradley hit Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena with his fourth pitch, and three pitches later, third baseman Isaac Paredes, who spent three years with the Rays before getting traded last year, smacked a home run to left field.

Seven pitches in, the Rays were in a two-run hole.

But the Rays have been a feisty bunch lately, and they stormed back once again, hitting four home runs on the day. Bradley wound up pitching six innings without allowing another run, and the Rays won 8-4 for their second impressive win in two nights.

“That's what good teams do. That's how you win ballgames,” right fielder Josh Lowe said of the Rays offense. He hit one of the four homers. “You score early, you don't go quiet there, you score again, and you keep scoring more runs.

“Offensively, I think we did a pretty complete job of playing our game.”

The Rays got Bradley off the hook right away, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first to tie the game. Yandy Diaz led off the first with a single, hustled to second on a fly ball to left and then scored on a single by Jonathan Aranda. Chandler Simpson singled to left, scoring Aranda to make it 2-2.

The Rays took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when light-hitting Curtis Mead hit a solo home run to right field, his first long ball of the season. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth thanks to solo home runs by Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe, the first time they've ever gone back-to-back consecutively, and it's the first time that any Rays sluggers have done that this season.

Bradley left after six innings with that 5-2 lead. He allowed just four hits and had seven strikeouts. Garrett Cleavinger, who's ERA is down to 1.89 now, pitched a perfect seventh, but Edwin Uceta gave up two homers in the eighth, one to Mauricio Dubon and other to Paredes, who had three homers in teh series.

The Rays answered right back after the threat, though. Kameron Misner and Mead both walked, and then Diaz slammed a 435-foot homer high off the backdrop in center field. It gave the Rays and 8-4 lead, which held up just fine after Pete Fairbanks closed it out in the ninth.

Three of the Rays' four homers came off Brown, which was a big surprise even with the wind blowing out to right field. Brown leads all of baseball in home runs allowed per nine innings (0.93), but they got to him anyway. They also won at home in the elements, which hasn't been ther case these first few months. The Rays were 3-13 at home before winning twice in the past two days.

"We needed every bit of those runs, and Yandy's home run was huge,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "When we win games, it's going to come with guys getting big hits with guys on base. It is nice to it go in our direction (with the home long balls). It's a different lineup with Josh back, and he certainly helps. We know what those two guys can do.''

Mead was the pleasant surprise. He didn't know he was starting at third base for Junior Caminero until about 10:30. He had a huge day, with his homer in the fourth, a single in the sixth and the walk ahead of the Diaz homer in the eighth. He's got his average over .200 finally, for just the second day all season.

"I was preparing to play anyway, but they told me about 10:30. I was pumped with the news that I was going to be in there,'' said Mead, who's had at least one hit in all three games in the series. "It was a special day, kind of cool to get the opportunity at the last minute and make the most of it.

"It was special for Yandy to hit that homer because our bullpen usually bails us out. It was nice to give them a little breather.''

The Rays are off on Thursday and then will start a three-game home series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.