Winning feels like running through a sprinkler on a hot day.
It’s Thursday and it’s a nice afternoon, so it’s a good day for the Rays to take on the Royals in Kansas City. Shane Baz was on the mound for the Rays, and the Royals were leaning on Michael Lorenzen.
The Rays went 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Jonathan India kicked off the home half with a single, but three outs followed to leave him stranded.
With two outs in the top of the second, Josh Lowe singled, but the Rays were unable to bring him home. The Royals went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
The third inning was 1-2-3 for both teams.
In the top of the fourth, the Rays finally got something going. With two outs, Jonathan Aranda singled, then Jake Mangum tripled to bring Aranda home.
Josh Lowe followed that with a single to score Mangum. Lowe stole second, but he was ultimately left stranded.
The Royals went down in order in the home half.
Chandler Simpson got a one-out triple in the top of the fifth, but ended up getting picked off at third by catcher Freddy Fermin.
A groundout by Yandy Diaz ended the inning. The Royals were once again 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
The Rays weren’t resting on their laurels. In the top of the sixth, we got back-to-back home runs from Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero.
With two outs, Josh Lowe singled, and that was it for Lorenzen, who was replaced by Angel Zerpa. Zerpa collected the final out of the inning. The Royals went 1-2-3 again in the home half, though India really made Baz work for it in that final out.
John Schreiber was next out of the Royals’ pen and gave up a leadoff single to Taylor Walls. A Simpson groundout advanced Walls to second. Yandy Diaz got a one-out walk. Unfortunately, the baserunners were left stranded. In the home half, Vinnie Pasquantino got the first Royals’ hit since the first inning with a single. Maikel Garcia then singled. The Rays breathed a big sigh of relief when a double play ended the inning.
Carlos Estévez was the new Royals pitcher in the top of the eighth, and he got the Rays out in order. In the bottom of the inning, Fermin got a two-out walk. Baz collected the final out of the inning, and that was the end of the game for him. His final line for the game was 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K on 97 pitches. A really nice outing for Baz, who dominated the Royals right out of the gate.
Sam Long was next for the Royals in relief. He got the Rays out 1-2-3. Paul Gervase came in for the Rays in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up a leadoff hit to India. Then Pasquantino laid down a bunt that got him safely to first, putting two runners on. Kevin Cash came to collect Gervase after that, and turned things over to Pete Fairbanks. Garcia grounded into a double play, wrapping up the inning, and putting the final nail in the Royals shutout.
Final: Rays 4, Royals 0