ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The rapid pace at which Brandon Lowe is changing the direction of baseballs is also quickly changing the narrative of his season.
Lowe homered twice Saturday to help lead the Rays to a sixth straight victory, 5-2 over the Blue Jays.
That’s four home runs in the past four games for the previously struggling second baseman/corner outfielder, six in his past eight games, eight in his past 15, and a career-high 20 overall. He is on a pace for 36 this season.
“Brandon Lowe is really turning his season around, doing some special things here heading into the (All-Star) break,’' manager Kevin Cash said. “There is a lot to be encouraged about.’'
Lowe homered in the first off Toronto right-hander Ross Stripling’s first pitch, lacing a 410-foot, 108-mph blast to right. He then hit a two-run shot in the third, a more pedestrian 366 feet at 100.1 mph.
“Was really just trying to get a good pitch to hit,’' Lowe said of the first home run.
Lowe got some help as All-Star catcher Mike Zunino also homered, crushing a ball 428 feet at 109.9-mph exit velocity deep into the left-field seats, his 19th of the season. Plus Zunino made what Cash said was “a huge play” in the first to pick Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off first base, helping get starter Ryan Yarbrough out of a jam.
They added a run in the eighth when Austin Meadows led off with a single, stole second and scored on Randy Arozarena’s single.
The win improved the Rays to 53-36 heading into Sunday’s final game before the All-Star break, and it kept them within 2 1/2 games of the American League East-leading Red Sox, who played later Saturday.
Saturday’s game was similar to Friday’s in that Yarbrough was not sharp early, threw too many pitches and didn’t last long, lifted after five innings and 104 pitches.
But the left-hander allowed only two runs — a Marcus Semien homer in the third — that left the Rays in position to win, much like the night before, when Shane McClanahan allowed one run over four rough innings, but they eventually rolled to a 7-1 win.
“He pitched and competed with what he had,’' Cash said of Yarbrough. “I don’t think it was coming easy for him.’'
Also like Friday, the bullpen came in and did another stellar job, giving up only one hit, with Matt Wisler working 1 2/3 innings, Pete Fairbanks 1 1/3 and Diego Castillo the ninth, though he made it a little more interesting than they had hoped. Randal Grichuk reached on a one-out error by shortstop Taylor Walls, then a walk, but Castillo eventually escaped.
After losing five straight and 14 of 16, the Rays have turned things around with six straight wins, doing so impressively by scoring 38 runs, blasting nine homers and hitting .333 (17 for 51) with runners in scoring position.
That in addition to playing their usual dazzling defense and pitching well overall.
“The defense has been incredible,’' said veteran pitcher Rich Hill, who starts Sunday.
“Kind of back on track to what we were doing when, I guess, if you want to say, everything was rolling in the right direction. Pitching has been great, bullpen has been great, timely hitting — all the perfect cliches to where we’re going.
“It is the way we’re playing — there’s no big flash about it or anything like that, it’s just consistent baseball. I think that’s the biggest thing that everybody’s seeing right now. The routine plays are being made, guys are executing in the strike zone and putting the bat on the ball and putting the onus on the defense to make a play has been beneficial to us.’'
