It never gets old.
Drew Rasmussen threw seven shutout innings, combining with Ryan Thompson and Jason Adam to throw a one-hitter, and Brandon Lowe’s grand slam helped break open Sunday’s game with Oakland Athletics, finishing off a three-game sweep with a second consecutive 11-0 win at Tropicnaa Field.
Rasmussen allowed just a single base runner on the afternoon, as Ramon Laureano doubled in the second inning, and was stranded at third base after stealing the bag.
Tampa Bay ended up taking the lead for good just one out into the bottom of the first, when Wander Franco blasted a solo homer to right off Athletics starter James Kaprielian.
The game stayed 1-0 until the fourth, when a pair of heads-up base-running plays by Harold Ramirez, first by beating out a ground ball to third base for a hit, and then by beating out a possible force play at second base on a ground ball by Christian Bethancourt to shortstop, which allowed Lowe to come to the plate with the bases loaded, and on Kaprielian’s first pitch, he lifted a grand slam to the opposite field, his second home run in as many days.
Lowe gets LOUD with a GRAND SLAM! 💣💣💣 pic.twitter.com/Eoi6KpIYgU
— RaysRadio (@RaysRadio) April 9, 2023
Ramirez came back in the fifth, and showed off the power as he made it 7-0 with a two-run blast to center.
Tampa Bay added a two runs in the sixth on a base hit by Arozarena, and a bases loaded walk issued to Josh Lowe. Both Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe added RBI singles later in the game, with the second baseman driving in Bethancourt for his fifth RBI of the afternoon in the seventh, and the outfielder plating Ramirez in the eighth.
The victory allowed the Rays to match the longest winning streak to begin a season in the Wild Card era, set by the 2003 Royals at 9-0. They can establish a new high-water mark Monday evening when the Boston Red Sox come to Tropicana Field. Jalen Beeks (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will open the game, taking on Nick Pivetta (0-1, 1.80 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:40.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
