The Tampa Bay Rays Accomplished Something They've Never Done Before on Friday Night
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 on Friday night to regain a share of first place in the American League East.
The Rays have won three straight while the O's have lost four straight to flip the standings around. Baltimore is 91-56 while Tampa Bay is 92-57 and has won eight of its last 10.
The winner of the American League East gets a first-round bye in the playoffs and the No. 1 overall seed in the American League playoffs. The loser of the division will get the first wild card spot and have to play in the first round.
In the win, the Rays got a great start from Zach Eflin, who went 7.0 strong innings, allowing just one run on one hit. He walked none and struck out eight.
Offensively, the Rays utilized the long ball, getting home runs from Harold Ramirez and Brandon Lowe, the latter of which made some special team history.
Per ESPN Stats & Info:
Brandon Lowe records his 20th HR of the season.
The Rays now have 5 players with 20 HR in a season for the first time in franchise history.
In addition to Lowe, Isaac Paredes (29), Jose Siri (25), Randy Arozarena (22), and Yandy Diaz (20) each have 20 homers or more.
Lowe has heated up recently, hitting .257 over his last 30 games. He's now hitting .234 for the year with the 20 homers and 67 RBI.
The Rays and Orioles will play again on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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