Rays Notebook: At Long Last, 2nd Baseman Brandon Lowe Back in Lineup
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the first time since May 15, second baseman Brandon Lowe was back on the field for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Sidelined for two months with a back injury, Lowe was activated prior to the game with the Baltimore Orioles, and he hit the ground running. Lowe reached base his first three times at bat. He got a bunt single against the Baltimore shift in the first inning, singled to left in the third and walked in the fifth. He scored on wild pitches from Baltimore starter Dean Kremer in both the first and third innings.
Lowe batted again in the seventh, and flied out to left field. He struck out looking to end the ninth inning with a runner — Yandy Diaz, who had been hit by a pitch — on first base.
He played 32 games before his injury, hitting .212 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. And scoring twice on Saturday, even on wild pitches, was a good thing. Nothing flashy, but it helped. He moved around well, he said, and felt normal doing the little things like diving back into first base and sliding into home
"I felt great. The only thing I'm trying to do out there is help the team win,'' Lowe said. "No way was that a selfish feeling scoring. I felt great adding another run on the scoreboard. It's nice to do all these things for the first time and feel nothing and really keep gaining confidence that I'm fully healthy.
Yarbrough shines in fill-in role
Veteran left-hander Ryan Yarbrough has had a rough go of it this season. Before getting recalled from Durham and getting the start on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, he was 0-4 on the season with a 5.82 earned run average, and has been sent down to Durham twice already this season.
He pitched well on Saturday though, he allowed just one run through the first four innings, and the one earned run wasn't really his fault. In the second inning, Baltimore's Anthony Santander and Ramon Urias were both credited with doubles, but Rays center fielder Josh Lowe misplayed both balls. He got a bad read on Santander's double over his head, and Urias' high fly ball to left-center bounced off Lowe's glove, taking his eye off the ball as left fielder Randy Arozarena got too close to him.
Yarbrough also gave up a run in the fifth after another double by Urias and a single from Tyler Nevin to make it 3-2 Rays, but the Yarbrough got a double play ball and a pop up to end the threat.
Yarbrough started the sixth inning to face left-handed hitter Cedric Mullins, and got him to line out. He threw 65 pitches, and got a rare standing ovation when he left. Matt Wisler got the final two outs to preserve the Rays' 3-2 lead. He lost his chance to get the win when Rays reliever Jason Adam allowed a home run to left-handed pinch-hitter Adley Rutschman to lead off the eighth inning, tying the game at 3-3.
It will be interesting to see what the Rays do with Yarbrough next. Starter Jeffrey Springs should return to the rotation after the All-Star break, and Luis Patino saw his first action on Friday night after being sidelined for three months with a left oblique injury.
"I was mixing things up pretty well and trying to keep them off-balance, especially since that's a team that's seen me a lot over the years,'' Yarbrough said. "It was nice working with (catcher) Christian (Bethencourt), and I thought he did a great job calling a game.
"When you get sent down, I took it as an opportunity to work on some things, to make some changes and improve. I feel like I've been doing that, trying to keep guys more uncomfortable instead of relying on one or two pitches and getting the full complement mix. You saw some things with their swings today, that I was in a good spot.''
Kiermaier, Baz to 60-Day Injured List
Nothing is definitive yet on the extent of Kevin Kiermaier's hip injury, but the Rays made it clear on Saturday that they aren't expecting good news when their veteran center fielder visits a hip specialist in Nashville next week.
The Rays went ahead and put him on the 60-day injured list on Saturday, retroactive to July 8. The earliest he can return is Sept. 6, and the Rays would have 29 games remaining on their schedule, as of now.
"I'm not going to be back anytime soon, so this was the move that needed to be made, and I totally understand, agree with it " Kiermaier said prior to Saturday's game with the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. "Yeah, it is [tough to grasp, and it hasn't really hit me just yet. For right now I'm kind of in that limbo, in-between period, but I think we will all know more here shortly. We've just got to keep everything under wraps until a decision is made, and then we'll go from there.
The 32-year-old from Fort Wayne, Ind., is the elder statesman on the Rays, an everyday player since 2014. He is hitting .228 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs this season. He missed 10 days in June with the hip injury, but got a cortisone shot and felt better. But as soon as he returned to action, it started flaring up again. He played in seven games, but had to be removed for a pinch-runner on July 7 at a game in Cincinnati.
The Rays also aren't expecting good medical reports on 23-year-old starter Shane Baz, either. Baz, the No. 2 overall prospect on Baseball America's Top 100 list in the preseason, missed the first two months of the season following arthroscopic surgery on the elbow. He made six starts this season, compiling a 5.00 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 27 innings.
He gave up 15 runs, but five came in one inning in his first start and seven more came in one inning of his last start. In between, he allowed just three earned runs in 24 1/3 innings, a 1.10 ERA. The final medical results on Baz should come next week during the All-Star break as well.
Aranda, Garza Sent Back to Durham
infielder Jonathan Aranda and pitcher Ralph Garza Jr. know all about the shuttle from between Durham and St. Petersburg, and both of them were headed back to Durham on Saturday after the Rays activated Brandon Lowe and Ryan Yarbrough.
Aranda was sent down for the second time on Saturday in a numbers crunch in the infield. His playing time was going to be limited with Lowe back, and the Rays want him to play every day. He's been impressive in the majors so far. He's 6-for-16 — a .375 average — with a double and two RBIs.
Garza has been up and back four times now. He has pitched 31 innings in 16 games, and is 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA.
Rays Claim Pitcher Cooper Criswell from Angels
The Rays have claimed right-handed pitcher Cooper Criswell off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Durham. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred Baz to the 60-day IL.
Criswell pitched 1 1/3 innings in the majors last year for the Angels, allowing three runs. He's 6-foot-6 and will turn 26 years old next week (July 24). He was selected by the Angels in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He pitched collegiately at North Carolina.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.