Brandon Lowe hit a three-run triple and Taj Bradley threw five scoreless innings as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Sunday.
The Rays were held without a base runner by Royals starter Michael Wacha until the sixth, but Tampa Bay scored four in the inning to help snap a six-game losing skid. Kansas City saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end.
The Royals loaded the bases in the top of the ninth against Pete Fairbanks, before the Rays’ pitcher retired Witt on a grounder for his fifth save of the year.
After Bradley and Wacha each recorded a 1-2-3 first inning, Nelson Velazquez worked a one-out walk in the top of the second, followed by Adam Frazier’s single. Bradley then got Freddy Fermin to fly out and MJ Melendez to lineout, escaping the jam.
Still perfect in the fifth, Wacha retired Isaac Paredes on a lineout, struck out Randy Arozarena and got Amed Rosario to ground out.
Tampa Bay reliever Shawn Armstrong relieved Bradley after five innings of one-hit ball. Bradley struck out six and walked three, lowering his ERA to 3.13.
Upon entering, Armstrong allowed Bobby Witt Jr.’s ninth homer of the year, a solo shot that gave Kansas City a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jose Caballero’s lead-off double ended Wacha’s perfect outing. However, Wacha got through the inning without allowing a run.
Garrett Cleavinger (4-0) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh after replacing Armstrong.
Harold Ramirez singled to begin the bottom of the seventh, and Paredes moved him to third on a double to left, ending Wacha’s day after 94 pitches.
John Schreiber replaced Wacha, and promptly hit Arozarena with his second pitch, loading the bases with no outs for pinch hitter Jonathan Aranda.
After Ramirez was forced out at home on a grounder to first, Lowe cleared the bases with a three-run triple, giving the Rays a 3-1 advantage.
The triple capped Wacha’s (4-5) statline at six-plus innings of three-hit, two-run ball with seven strikeouts and a walk.
Two batters later, Jose Siri drove in Velazquez with an RBI single, putting the Rays ahead 4-1 and chasing Schreiber for Carlos Hernandez.
Rays reliever Kevin Kelly entered in the top of the eighth. From there, Witt singled with one out, before Vinnie Pasquantino was hit with a pitch.
Salvador Perez then singled to left, but Witt was thrown out at home by Arozarena, preserving Tampa Bay’s three-run advantage.
Will Smith pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth for the Royals.
–Field Level Media