Field Level Media
Apr 1, 2019
Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Lowe homered and combined to drive in six runs as the Rays won their fourth straight in a 7-1 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
Kiermaier (four RBIs) and Lowe (two RBIs) both had two hits and slugged their first home runs. Ji-Man Choi also had a pair of hits.
Ryan Yarbrough (1-0) pitched 4 1/3 innings -- most of it with a tissue plugging up a nose bleed -- and gave up just one run after entering in the second inning of the first game of the three-game series.
Nolan Arenado had three hits, including a run-scoring double, and David Dahl had two hits. Starter Chad Bettis (0-1) gave up six runs in 5 2/3 innings as Colorado lost its third straight.
The Rockies had lost their last two after splitting their season-opening four-game series with the Miami Marlins in South Florida.
Ryne Stanek, who started 29 games last season in the opener role, fanned the side in the top of the first and was replaced by Yarbrough.
Lowe broke an 0-for-10 start to the season (with six strikeouts) by swatting a four-seam fastball from Bettis into the left-field seats for a two-run homer to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth.
It became a three-run inning when Daniel Robertson grounded out to score Yandy Diaz, who walked after Lowe's homer and advanced to third on a ground-rule double by Kiermaier.
Colorado finally broke through in the top of the sixth, getting a couple of runners on against Yarbrough before Arenado lined an RBI double to left against reliever Wilmer Font to make it 3-1 and put two runners in scoring position.
After Trevor Story fouled out to first, lefty reliever Jalen Beeks struck out Ryan McMahon with a 3-2 changeup to end the inning.
Tampa Bay added on with another long ball against Bettis in the sixth when Kiermaier clubbed an 84 mph changeup for a deep three-run shot to right field -- 409 feet -- for a 6-1 lead.
Kiermaier made it 7-1 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh for his fourth RBI.
Colorado reliever Jake McGee left the game with an injury in the eighth.
--Field Level Media