Josh Lowe hit two home runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Houston Astros 6-1 on Saturday night.
Lowe hit his sixth and seventh homers of the season, marking his second career multi-homer game. His first home run came off Ronel Blanco, who was close to finishing the fifth inning with a shutout until Lowe hit a 91-mph fastball 373 feet to right field.
“He can be such a big part of us getting our offense going, and today, we saw what he’s capable of,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Blanco was having his way with us up until then, and it seemed like it just gave our dugout a boost that just snowballed from there.”
Rays starter Zack Littell (5-7) gave up one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, with one walk and one strikeout.
Blanco (9-6) was taken out after the fifth inning. He allowed two runs, six hits, and two walks, while striking out seven.
In the seventh inning, Lowe hit a home run to left field, sailing 339 feet into the Crawford Boxes to make the score 4-1.
Lowe also hit a double in the third inning and a single in the ninth inning, finishing the game 4 for 5 for his first career four-hit game.
“In the Miami series, I really think I figured something out with my timing and put my finger on something that I’ve been missing this whole season,” Lowe said. “I just think I was like a half-click too late on some things.”
Yandy Diaz hit a 344-foot homer in the seventh inning off Astros reliever Tayler Scott, adding Tampa Bay’s third run. Brandon Lowe had a two-run single in the ninth inning, making it 6-1 for the Rays.
Littell’s only significant mistake was an 87-mph slider in the second inning that Jon Singleton hit over the glove of a leaping Lowe for Singleton’s ninth homer of the year.
“I would like the pitch to Singleton back, but I’m happy with it and hung around long enough for our guys to get some runs,” Littell said.
Astros outfielder Pedro León got his first major league hit down the left-field line in the third inning but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch it to a double.
Reliever Caleb Ferguson, who was acquired from the Yankees on Tuesday, allowed four hits and two runs in his two-inning debut for Houston.
