The 2021 Tampa Bay Rays have done something no other team in franchise history has done: get beyond the 97-win plateau in a season.
Drew Rasmussen and three relievers combined to throw a three-hit shutout, Wander Franco tied a major league record reaching in his 43rd consecutive game, and Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi each homered to not only give the Rays their 98th win of the year but also clinch home field advantage for the entirety of the American League playoffs with a 7-0 shutout of the Houston Astros Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.
Franco equaled Frank Robinson‘s 1956 mark with a one-out double in the top of the first off Luis Garcia. He would add singles in the seventh and ninth off reliever Peter Solomon for his fourth three-hit game during the streak.
Tampa Bay jumped on the Astros with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, when Brett Phillips‘ fly ball was misplayed by center fielder Jose Siri into a three-base error and allowed the inning to continue. Francisco Mejia then singled in Phillips to give the Rays a 1-0 lead, and Lowe followed up with a two-run blast into the seats in right for his 35th home run of the year to make it 3-0.
Rasmussen meanwhile set down the first 12 Houston hitters in succession to maintain the lead until the fifth, when Lowe doubled with one out, moved to third on a Franco groundout and after Nelson Cruz walked to put runners at the corners, Choi delivered a three-run shot to right, his 11th of the eason, to double the advantage to 6-0.
The Rays added one more run in the eighth, with Joey Wendle doubling off Solomon to lead off the inning and finally scoring with two outs on a triple by Phillips which he tried to turn into an inside the park home run, but was thrown out at the plate tryimg to make it 8-0.
After Rasmussen worked the first five frames, allowing just a fifth-inning single by Yuli Gurriel, Luis Patino puts up zeroes in the sixth and eventh, and Ryan Sherriff got all the way until the final out of the game, which Louis Head got by striking out pinch-hitter Chas McCormick.
The Rays will look to take the series with a win in Thursday’s finale, as Collin McHugh (6-1, 1.60 ERA) will open the game, taking on Lance McCullers Jr. (12-5, 3.17 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
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.
