The Tampa Bay Rays used a late rally to beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Sunday, scoring twice in the eighth inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Reds reliever Fernando Cruz walked Yandy Diaz and Isaac Paredes, while Brandon Lowe reached on an infield single.
Cruz struck out Amed Rosario, but catcher Austin Wynns couldn’t handle the pitch, allowing pinch runner Jose Caballero to score and tie the game. Lucas Sims then took over for Cruz and walked Richie Palacios, bringing in Lowe and giving the Rays a 2-1 lead.
“Good at-bat by Yandy. Great job by (Caballero) by putting pressure on him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Cruz is nasty, tough to lay off some of those, but when you’re nasty sometimes you’ve got to go out of the zone significantly. Great at-bat by Richie as well.”
Garrett Cleavinger (7-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Pete Fairbanks secured his 20th save of the season.
“It’s nice that we play nine,” Lowe said. “Unusual way to win, but 11:35 a.m. start time. I’ll take any kind of win.”
Reds starter Hunter Greene allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings. He had a no-hitter until Lowe’s single in the sixth inning. Greene struck out five, walked one, and hit two batters.
“Tough loss, but I’ve got to keep just going out there and doing my job,” Greene said. “Hopefully we’re able to get some more momentum going back home.”
Wynns drove in a run in the second inning with a single that scored Stuart Fairchild, who had reached base due to one of the Rays’ three errors. Wynns tried to stretch his single into a double and got caught, while Santiago Espinal was out at home to end the inning.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz had three hits and four stolen bases, making it 55 for the season. He also reached base on an error in the eighth inning and made a great sliding catch in left field to rob Rays shortstop Taylor Walls of a hit in the sixth inning.
