CLEVELAND — Brandon Lowe hit a home run, Tampa Bay’s bullpen held Cleveland to one hit over seven scoreless innings and the Rays ended a three-game losing streak on a tough road with a 5-2 victory over the AL Central-leading Guardians on Thursday night.
Lowe hit his 18th home run in the first inning against Gavin Williams (3-9).
The Rays were swept in a three-game series at NL East-leading Philadelphia earlier this week, improving their record to 3-4 during the 10-game road trip that began at AL East-leading Baltimore and concluded Sunday in Cleveland.
When that ends, Tampa Bay will be the first major league team to face three division leaders on the same trip in September or later.
“I didn’t know that. We have to talk to MLB about the (damn) schedule,” manager Kevin Cash said with a laugh.
“There were a lot of challenges and this team is no different than the other two we played in Philly and Baltimore,” Cash added. “But it’s nice to see us bounce back. We had some close games that didn’t end up in our favor.”
Tampa Bay’s bullpen made this victory possible.
Cole Sulser (1-0) took over for Rays starter Ryan Pepiot in the third inning and pitched three hitless innings, recording a career-high four strikeouts. Three other Tampa relief pitchers went one inning each before Richard Lovelady earned his second save in the ninth inning.
Sulser also pitched the best innings of his career and recorded his first win since joining Miami in 2022. The right-hander came to Tampa Bay in July via a trade from the New York Mets.
“I am happy to be able to make my contribution,” said Sulser, who has been deployed in various roles.
Cash said he took Pepiot out of the squad early because his speed had dropped and he wanted to make sure he finished the season strong. Pepiot was initially surprised he was taken out of the squad, but later understood the logic.
“Velo were a little behind and they made the decision,” Pepiot said. “It was probably the right one. Kudos to the guys who shut them down for seven pointless games and kept us in the game and supported me after I couldn’t do my job today.”
The Guardians missed the chance to extend their lead in the division over hopeless second-place Kansas City.
Cash was back in the dugout after a one-game suspension he served after Rays pitcher Edwin Uceta intentionally threw to Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos. Uceta missed his second game.
Lane Thomas, who had problems in the first month after moving to Cleveland due to a transfer, scored the Guardians’ first run with a double with two outs in the first inning.
Thomas was the AL’s best hitter in September, and the double boosted his average for the month to .421 and his overall average to .248 – an increase of 17 points in 11 games.
Williams, who did not make it past the first inning in his previous start against the Dodgers, allowed Lowe’s home run but then caught himself and allowed seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
“They hit his fastball hard because he was behind,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Most of their hard-hit balls came when he was behind.”
NEW MAN (AGER)
Cash couldn’t keep a straight face when asked what it was like to look over at the Cleveland dugout and not see former manager Terry Francona.
“Great,” Cash said, bursting into laughter as he spoke of his close friend who retired last season. “I miss him. The game misses him. He’s healthy and doing well.”
Cash played for Francona in Boston and was his bullpen coach in Cleveland.
TRAINING ROOM
Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (right thigh contusion) is moving better and in less pain after being hit by a tough comebacker on Tuesday in Chicago. Lively is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Friday and is on track to start the final game of the series on Sunday.
Next
Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (11-7, 3.56 ERA) starts Friday against Zach Littell (6-9, 3.89), who is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA in 10 career appearances against Cleveland.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
