ST. PETERSBURG — The rapid pace at which Brandon Lowe is changing the direction of baseballs is also quickly changing the narrative of his season.
Lowe homered twice Saturday to help lead the Rays to a sixth straight victory, 5-2 over the Blue Jays.
That’s four home runs in the past four games for the previously struggling second baseman/corner outfielder, six in his past eight games, eight in his past 15, and a career-high 20 overall. He is on a pace for 36 this season.
Lowe homered in the first off Toronto right-hander Ross Stripling’s first pitch, lacing a 410-foot, 108 mph blast to right. He then hit a two-run shot in the third, a more pedestrian 366 feet at 100.1 mph.
Lowe got some help as All-Star catcher Mike Zunino also homered, crushing a ball 428 feet at 109.9 mph exit velocity deep into the leftfield seats, his 19th of the season.
The win improved the Rays to 53-36 heading into Sunday’s final game before the All-Star break, and it kept them within 2½ games of the American League East-leading Red Sox, who played later Saturday.
Saturday’s game was similar to Friday’s in that starter Ryan Yarbrough was not sharp early, threw too many pitches and didn’t last long, lifted after five innings and 104 pitches.
But Yarbrough allowed only two runs — a Marcus Semien homer in the third — that left the Rays in position to win, much like the night before, when Shane McClanahan allowed one run over four rough innings, but they eventually rolled to a 7-1 win.
Also like Friday, the bullpen came in and did another stellar job, giving up only one hit, with Matt Wisler working 1⅔ innings, Pete Fairbanks 1⅓ and Diego Castillo the ninth.
After losing five straight and 14 of 16 before the current winning streak, the Rays have turned things around, doing so impressively by scoring 38 runs, blasting nine homers and hitting .333 (17-for-51) with runners in scoring position.
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