Lowe Rewards Rays' Faith With Two Homers In Series Leveling-win

Arlington, United States, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2020 ) :Brandon Lowe had the backing of his Rays teammates and manager Kevin Cash, but even so his post-season struggles at the plate were weighing on him.

"To say that my mind wasn't going different places during that struggle would be lying," Lowe said Wednesday, after breaking out of his slump with two home runs in Tampa Bay's World Series leveling 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The All-Star second baseman had a regular-season batting average of .269 with an on base percentage of .361. He belted 14 home runs in 56 games in the pandemic-shortened campaign.

But the 26-year-old had been dismal in the post-season, going 6-for-56 with 19 strikeouts.

But Cash never gave up on him.

"With Brandon in particular, we're not here if it wasn't for him," Cash said when asked before Wednesday's game if it was faith, hope or sheer stubbornness that had him opting not to shake up his batting order as Lowe and others struggled.

"We all wanted to see him get hot," Cash said. "And it's getting magnified simply because it is Brandon Lowe, and what he did throughout the season.

"But we've got a number of guys throughout this lineup that we would like to see get hot and (we) continue to have confidence that they will.

" Lowe certainly did. Batting in his usual Number Two spot in the order, he homered with one out in the first off Dodgers rookie starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin.

He added a two-out, two-run homer off Dodgers reliever Dustin May in the fifth inning, becoming the 55th player with multiple homers in a World Series game.

"I think B-Lowe set the tone," said Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. "When he hit the first home run, it kind of got everyone juiced up.

"From that point you felt the momentum leaning our way for the rest of the game." The Rays' pleasure in Lowe's breakthrough was palpable. Shortstop Willy Adames' congratulatory greeting was particularly enthusiastic.

"The second one he about toppled me over," Lowe said.

That kind of support, however, comes as no surprise to Lowe.

"There were times I wasn't feeling too good," he said. "That's what's so great about this team -- as soon as I started dragging my feet there was someone there to lift me up."bb/mtp