Photo Credit: Bradley Walker NGSC Sports
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The Tampa Bay Rays fell in a close game to the Reds in game one of a three-game series. The Rays are 15-19 (8-10 at home) in series openers in 2024. Tampa had the fewest hits in an extra inning game since April 23, 2002, against the Boston Red Sox. The bright spot was pitcher Shane Baz coming into his second start after returning from Tommy John surgery. He threw 86 total pitches 57 of which were strikes that accounted for seven strikeouts. With the loss, the Rays slipped to .500, and with the win the Reds got within three games of .500. Yesterday’s game featured the home team going with Zach Littell who is 3-7 with a 4.46 ERA and 100 strikeouts. The Reds started Andrew Abbott with a 9-6 record with a 3.19 ERA and 87 strikeouts.
Once again the Cincinnati Reds were in their road grey uniforms and red caps. The Rays were in black City Connect jerseys with black caps. According to reports, the reason that Yandy Diaz was on the restricted list is that he and Randy Arozerena’s wife got into an altercation. Once Randy was traded Diaz came off that list. Rays pitching has a 2,93 ERA since June 19th which is first in MLB.
Unlike Friday, the Rays would score first on a mixture of hits and walks. The first RBI came off the bat of Jose Siri. The next run came at the bottom of the fifth off the bat of Alex Jackson. Jackson has been struggling to hit near or under .100. The next hitter, Yandy Diaz hit a home run. A flurry of hits happened as Amed Rosario and Bradon Lowe nearly hit homers.
The Rays got starting pitcher Abbott out of the game after just four innings. At the time that he left, Tampa led by a score of 4-0. The attendance for the game was 23,464. It was another stellar game for Rays pitching as Zach Littell went seven innings giving up just three hits, no runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. Tampa was dominated and took advantage of a bad inning from Abbott. They took Friday’s loss and bounced back. The one aspect that has been great despite a win or loss has been starting pitching. Littell was outstanding.
Once again the Rays kept Elly De La Cruz off the bases. Besides a walk, he went 0 for 3. Cincinnati had only four hits for the entire game Tampa turned the tide from game 1. TB had some hitters as Bradon Lowe went 2 for 3 with two doubles and a walk. The others were Alex Jackson and Yandy Diaz both hitting solo home runs. The game was slow until the Rays busted it open and got three runs in the fifth.
Today’s game starts early as the first pitch is at 11:35 am. We will see how both teams recover in a quick turnaround. Let’s see if there are more Rays fans tomorrow instead of Reds fans.
Was it the big inning that got the Tampa Bay Rays the win? Leave a comment below.
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Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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