Brandon Lowe has a career day as the Rays pour 13 on the Blue Jays

Rays win 13-0, and they put themselves once again one game above .500

After falling 6-2 to the Bule Jays yesterday, and going back to .500 for the 25th time this season the Rays will try to take the series finale today. Taj Bradley will take the mound who arguably has been the best pitcher in the American League since he allowed 9 earned runs against Baltimore. On the other side of the rubber, the consistent Chris Bassitt might be throwing his last start at Roger Center. There have been rumblings that say Bassitt could be moved next week at the trade deadline.

The game started with a bang, as Brandon Lowe sent a baseball to the upper deck of Roger Center. This was Lowe’s 4th homer in the past 7 games. We all hope this is not Brandon’s last bark as a Ray. The next batter, Arozarena, was retired 4 pitches later with a fly out to center field to end the inning.

Taj Bradley allowed 2 hits in the first inning, nevertheless, those were the only hits that Taj would allow all afternoon long. Taj finished up with seven strikeouts in six innings with only 83 pitches. This is the third consecutive start where Taj pitches 6+ innings and allows 0 runs. Bradley has allowed 5 runs in his last 55 innings pitched (0.82 ERA) which is the in baseball during that span. Bradley has cemented himself as the ace in the starting rotation.

The offense today supported Taj in big fashion. In the bottom of the third inning, Paredes smacked a ball to left field to score Palacios and make it 2-0 Rays. Moments later, Lowe shot a 3-2 curveball that stayed in the heart of the plate, Paredes scored, and the Rays lead 3-0.

The big inning arrived in the bottom of the 6th. The Rays loaded the bases with no outs, and Alex Jackson came through with a single up the middle, Rays led 5-0. Two batters alter, the RBI man Isaac Paredes hit a soft ground ball to left field, DeLuca and Jackson crossed the plate. Rays lead 7-0 and it’s only the sixth inning.

The party continued in the 7th inning, as the Rays poured it on the Jays’ bullpen. The pen has been atrocious all season long for the Blue Jays, and today was not the exception. Ten men came to the plate and five of them scored. Rays lead 12-0 just before the seven-inning stretch. Every single Ray in the lineup reached base in today’s game. However, Brandon Lowe was the main character. He might have had one of the best games of his career as he went 4 for 4 with a homer, a single, two doubles, and two walks. He was a triple away from the cycle; however, he could not get it done in the top of the 9th inning.

The Rays win and score a season-high 13 runs. Today the offense had outstanding at-bats, the defense did his job, and the pitching was perfect. The Rays will come back home for the first time since the All-Star game. The 49 and 53 Reds will arrive at the Trop for the first and only time this year. The first pitch is scheduled at 6:50 ET when the Rays will try to put themselves two games above .500 for the first time in a while.