Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer gave up home runs to the first two batters of the game then left due to right lateral forearm tightness and the Chicago White Sox beat the Rays 5-4 on Saturday night. Alen Hanson hit his fourth home run on Archer’s second pitch of the game, and Yolmer Sanchez followed with his ninth homer to help the White Sox snap a four-game losing streak.
Jay Bruce drove in his first two runs for the Cleveland Indians and Mike Clevinger struck out nine in seven innings Saturday night in a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Bruce, acquired in a trade from the New York Mets on Wednesday night, drove in the first run with a two-out fly ball that dropped for a double between left fielder Corey Dickerson and third baseman Trevor Plouffe in the first inning.
Chris Sale allowed two hits in eight innings and struck out 13, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Tuesday for their seventh straight victory. Sale (14-4) reached double digits in strikeouts for the 15th time this season, the first time that’s been done since Randy Johnson in 2002.
Steven Souza Jr. homered off Milwaukee reliever Jacob Barnes leading off the ninth inning Sunday to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-1 win over the Brewers. Souza’s 24th home run helped the Rays salvage a win in a three-game series in which they scored only two runs. It was Souza’s first walkoff homer with the Rays.
The Tampa Bay Rays begin the second half of the season on Friday when they kick off a six-game road trip in the Pacific Time Zone. They hope to continue their momentum after winning 6 of their last 9 games heading into the all-star break, including taking three of four from the Boston Red Sox.
With the Major League Baseball All-Star Game coming to Florida for the first time, a large number of the All-Stars will be returning to their home state. During Tuesday night’s game at Marlins Park in Miami, 9 Floridians, including one of the starting pitchers, will be joining the game’s best. Left hander Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and the starting pitcher for the American League, is a native of Lakeland and a graduate of Lakeland High School. He…
Dustin Pedroia, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hanley Ramirez all homered, Drew Pomeranz won his third consecutive start, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 on Friday night. Pedroia hit a two-run shot during a four-run third, and Bradley Jr. had a fourth-inning solo drive off Jake Odorizzi (5-4) as Boston took a 5-0 lead. Ramirez scored his 1,000th run on his ninth-inning solo homer. Pomeranz (9-4) limited Tampa Bay to two runs over six innings despite allowing six hits and five walks. Steven Souza Jr. hit a…