Right-hander Aaron Civale threw six shutout innings, Luke Raley hit an inside-the-park home run and the Tampa Bay Rays won two of three games from the host San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe also homered for Tampa Bay, which rebounded from a 7-0 defeat on Tuesday after opening the interleague series with a 10-2 victory.
Making his third start for the Rays, after he was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians, Civale (6-3) pitched with a lead throughout, allowing five hits and a walk. He struck out five.
After taking advantage of a J.D. Davis fielding error to score in the first, the Rays began a power display when Josh Lowe launched his 15th homer of the season to lead off the fourth.
Brandon Lowe made it 4-0 in the fifth with a two-run shot, his 16th homer. Tampa Bay’s Isaac Paredes completed a three-run inning with an RBI single.
Raley’s homer was a rarity, even among inside-the-park homers. The pinch hitter’s 425-foot blast caromed high off the bricks in right-center field, then rebounded off the top of the center field fence before bouncing back into play.
By the time Giants center fielder Wade Meckler chased down the ball along the warning track in left-center field, Raley already reached third base and coasted home. The homer was his 17th of the season.
All three Rays home runs came off Giants bulk-innings reliever Ross Stripling, who was charged with five runs on 11 hits in six innings. He struck out three.
As a result of the unearned run in the first inning, Giants opener Ryan Walker (4-2) was docked with the loss.
The Giants’ lone run came on a one-out, bases-loaded walk drawn by pinch hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. in the seventh. Colin Poche replaced Hector Perez and induced a double-play grounder off the bat of pinch hitter Austin Slater, retaining the 6-1 advantage.
Paredes finished with three hits for the Rays, who totaled 14 hits two days after scattering 18 in Monday’s win. Brandon Lowe scored twice and drove in two runs, while Josh Lowe, Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena each collected two hits.
Joc Pederson went 2-for-3 with a walk for the Giants, who completed a 2-4 homestand. Pederson’s first-inning double was San Francisco’s only extra-base hit.
–Field Level Media
