Rays Win Streak Ends At Seven
St. Petersburg, FL – Corey Seager went 5-for-5 including a homer while driving in five runs as the Texas Rangers halted the Tampa Bay Rays win streak at seven in a row with a 8-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 2.49 ERA) picks up the win for Texas who improve 41-22. Eovaldi worked 6.1-innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking three. He threw 102 pitches with 62 for strikes.
Taj Bradley (4-3, 4.19 ERA) takes the loss for Tampa Bay who fall to 47-20. Tampa Bay had opportunities to trim the Rangers lead but finished the game just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Brujan’s Error Opens Door:
The Rangers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second inning in larger part due to a throwing error by Vidal Brujan on what could have been a double play ball.
Brujan fielded a grounder off the bat of Travis Jankowski but threw wildy past shortstop Wander Franco allowing Jonah Heim to score from first. Texas went on to load the bases and scored a pair of runs on Corey Seager’s double. The Rays escaped further damage as Brujan’s relay throw was in time to retire Marcus Semien trying to score from first.
Beeks Allows Homer To Seager:
Bradley was not sharp on the afternoon lasting just 3.2-innings. He was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits while striking out four and walking four. He threw 75 pitches with 46 for strikes locating 10 of 19 first pitch strikes. he departed trailing 4-0 with a runner at 3rd and two outs in the fourth. With lefty Corey Seager due up, Kevin Cash turned to lefty Jalen Beeks. The move backfired as Seager launched his seventh homer of the season to extend the Rangers lead to 6-0.
Mejia’s Three Run Homer Cuts Rangers Lead:
Tampa Bay cut the lead by scoring four times in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Luke Raley and a three run homer by Francisco Mejia. It was Mejia’s second homer of the year and extended his season high hit streak to five straight games.
MLB Debut Not Smooth Sailing:
Beeks silenced Texas in the fifth inning but he departed after allowing a 2-out single to Marcus Semien in the sixth. Jose Lopez, recalled from Triple-A before the game, was summoned to replace Beeks. He allowed a single to Corey Seager, walked Nathaniel Lowe, and a 2-run ground rule double to Adolis Garcia as Texas extended their lead to 8-4.
Texas extended their lead to 8-4 on a 2-RBI ground rule double off the bat of Adolis Garcia. The double came against Rays lefty Jose Lopez who was making his big league debut.
Roster Move:
The Tampa Bay Rays optioned Luis Patino to the Triple-A Durham Bulls and selected the contract of left-hander Jose Lopez. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred Josh Fleming to the 60-day injured list.
Up Next:
The Rays and Rangers finish their three game weekend series on Sunday afternoon at 1:40 pm. Shane McClanahan (9-1, 2.02) will take the mound for Tampa Bay. The Rangers will counter with left-hander Martin Perez (6-1, 3.97 ERA).
