Lowe goes deep to snap postseason skid
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Brandon Lowe has awakened from his long postseason slumber, and the Rays will need the rest of their lineup to follow his lead if they hope to eliminate the Astros in Game 6 on Friday.
Lowe launched his first home run of the postseason in the Rays' 4-3 loss to the Astros in Thursday's Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Petco Park, busting his 3-for-41 slump in the playoffs. Turning on a fastball from reliever Blake Taylor that caught too much of the plate, Lowe launched his solo shot 424 feet to right-center field with an exit velocity of 110.7 mph to tie the game at 1 in the third inning.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 11 | TB 2, HOU 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 12 | TB 4, HOU 2 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 13 | TB 5, HOU 2 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 14 | HOU 4, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 15 | HOU 4, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 16 | HOU 7, TB 4 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 17 | TB 4, HOU 2 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Lowe's solo shot was the first of three, followed by another from the red-hot Randy Arozarena and a dramatic game-tying blast off the bat of Ji-Man Choi in the eighth inning. Tampa Bay needs its overall offensive approach to become more balanced in Game 6, with contributions from the top of the order to the bottom, but the Rays don't want to get away from the power stroke.
"We did get some big ones. It was encouraging to see Brandon have some good swings," manager Kevin Cash said after the loss.
The second baseman was due for a breakout, too. Lowe put up 14 home runs and a .916 OPS in the regular season, so while the Rays' bats scuffled early in the ALCS despite their series lead, it's Lowe they've been waiting on.
Cash kept Lowe out of the starting lineup in Game 4 with Zack Greinke on the mound, but prior to Game 5, Cash had a hunch and slotted Lowe into the leadoff spot, where he started just once in the regular season. Just two plate appearances later, Lowe made his manager look smart.
"He's going to come up today with some opportunities to do some damage, find a hole, find some grass out there," Cash said prior to the game, "or maybe find something over the wall."
By starting Lowe in the top spot Thursday, the Rays have already used six leadoff hitters in the postseason, which sets a new record for the team.
With fewer hits and more strikeouts than the Astros through the first four games by a comfortable margin, the Rays needed some offensive production from the members of their lineup not named Arozarena. Tampa Bay has relied on its brilliant defense and solid pitching to get within a win of the World Series, but the bats will need to carry their weight if the club hopes to go any further.
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It also begs the question of why this is happening to the Rays now after they looked so strong through the Wild Card Series, AL Division Series and the early games of the ALCS. Cash doesn't think his hitters are selling out for power, and the performance of Houston's pitching staff needs to be given some credit in this equation, too.
"It's a combination. They've pitched us well, they've pitched us tough," Cash said. "That big hit continues to elude us with guys on base."
Thursday's lineup configuration of Lowe followed by Arozarena and Austin Meadows -- whom Cash expects to get hot soon, too -- has the potential to give the Rays the firepower they're searching for, but they'll need more of this from Lowe to set the tone.
If the Rays are able to get something going with that group at the top of the order, they should open the door to manufacturing some runs in between the big blows. The home runs have been great when they've come, but Tampa Bay was missing the timely single up the gut or the double down the line with runners on base Thursday.
When those things start happening, especially in the early innings, Tampa Bay can get back to playing "Rays baseball," which is tailor made for protecting a lead in the postseason.
"It's the ALCS, they're going to throw out good pitcher after good pitcher, and we're going to do the same," said Kevin Kiermaier after the game. "We need to do a little bit better job of taking our walks, create runs in many different ways and use our speed and athleticism. But we have to get on base and put the pressure on them at a little bit better pace, and once again we're going to try and do that tomorrow."