Rays: Win a Tight Game and Series Win Over Cubs, 3-2

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The Tampa Bay Rays were coming off another close loss. Just like in the game on Tuesday, Tampa had a chance to win. They had the same scenario as Brandon Lowe was up to bat against Hector Neris. Lowe hit a walk-off home run on Tuesday night to give the Rays a much-needed win. Unfortunately, Neris got the better of Lowe and got him to fly out and give the Cubs the win in game two 4-3. The Rays got some good news as left-fielder Randy Arozarena was back in the lineup after having some hamstring soreness. Tampa was trying to win a series for the first time since the two-game series win over the Marlins last week. The pitching matchup for Chicago was Jordan Steele who had a 0-3 record, 3.65 ERA, and 43 strikeouts. The Rays countered with Taj Bradley who had a 1-4 record, 5.17 ERA, and 39 strikeouts. The Chicago Cubs faithful were once again present.

The Rays will get the first vote on the new stadium development tomorrow. The final vote will be at the end of July. The talk on local radio has been if the new stadium gets approved will it be filled? The Rays came out in baby blue tops, with white pants, and navy blue caps. Once again, the Cubs were in their all-road grey jerseys with blue caps. The game started kinda of a bore as there was only one hit by either team. The Cubs got on the board first with some old-school baseball using sacrifice bunts. Alex Jackson was unable to hold on to the ball as Michael Busch scored to put the Cubs up 1-0. The bunts continued as Chicago got another run to take a 2-0 lead.

Photo Credit: Bradley Walker NGSC Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays loaded in the bases in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to score any runs. This was the second time in 2024 that Taj Bradley had double-digit strikeouts. He left the game with 11 only giving up three hits, two runs, and two walks and his ERA dropped to 4.23. The Rays scored their first run off the bat of pinch hitter Josh Lowe as Amed Rosario scored. Another pitch hitter got the job done as Ben Rortvedt got a run in to tie the game. Yandy Diaz singled and Josh Lowe scored to give the Rays their first lead of the game. Going into the final inning the Rays had a 3-2 lead. That is where the game would end. Tampa won the series which is what they needed.

At the start of the game, it looked like it was the same old Tampa Bay Rays. They let the Chicago Cubs use old-school baseball by the way of the bunt to get their runs. Instead of just folding up their tents and taking the loss they got together and got a win. What a game for Taj Bradley who was the winning pitcher. Yandy Diaz went 2 for 4 with two singles and an RBI. The two-pinch hitter, Josh Lowe went 1 for 1 with a single and an RBI and Ben Rortverdt also had the same stat line one-for-one with an RBI. This series win could be something the Rays could build off as they have a game road trip coming up. The announced attendance was 19,679.