Rays score twice in the 8th for 2-1 victory over the Reds

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of the Cincinnati Reds bullpen to score twice in the eighth inning for a come-from-behind 2-1 win Sunday.

The Rays loaded the bases with two outs against the Reds. With one out, Reds reliever Fernando Cruz walked Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe reached on an infield single and Isaac Paredes walked.

Cruz struck out Amed Rosario, but catcher Austin Wynns could not handle the pitch and pinch runner Jose Caballero scored to tie the game. Lucas Sims came in to replace Cruz and walked Richie Palacios to score Lowe and give the Rays the 2-1 lead.

“Good at-bat by Yandy. Great job by (Caballero) by putting pressure on him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

“Cruz is nasty, tough to lay off some of those, but when you’re nasty sometimes you’ve got to go out of the zone significantly. Great at-bat by Richie as well.”

Garrett Cleavinger (7-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Pete Fairbanks earned his 20th save of the season.

“It’s nice that we play nine,” Lowe said. “Unusual way to win, but 11:35 a.m. start time. I’ll take any kind of win.”

Reds starter Hunter Greene gave up just two hits in seven scoreless innings. He had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings before Lowe hit a single to right field. Greene struck out five, walked one and hit two batters.

“Tough loss, but I’ve got to keep just going out there and doing my job,” Greene said. “Hopefully we’re able to get some more momentum going back home.”

Wynns had an RBI single in the second inning that scored Stuart Fairchild after he reached on one of the Rays’ three errors. On the play, Wynns got caught up trying to extend the single into a double and Santiago Espinal was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz had three hits and four stolen bases, giving him 55 this season. He also reached base on an error in the eighth inning and made a spectacular sliding catch in short left field to rob Rays shortstop Taylor Walls of a hit in the sixth inning.

“That was fantastic, it definitely gave me an extra boost,” Greene said. “It’s pretty fantastic when he makes plays like that. It’s not the first time he’s done it.”

TRADES

The Rays also made a deal prior to the game when they sent reliever Jason Adam to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and catcher J.D. Gonzalez.

“This was an extremely tough morning saying goodbye to Jason, who has meant so much to our organization on and off the field,” Rays president Erik Neander said. “But we are excited to see these three guys we obtained from San Diego grow in our system.”

Also on Sunday, the Chicago Cubs acquired infielder Paredes from the Rays for third baseman Christopher Morel and two minor leaguers.

Paredes is batting .245 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in 101 games this season. He signed with Chicago as an amateur free agent in 2015, but he was traded to Detroit two years later and made his big league debut with the Tigers in 2020.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery) has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and is expected to start Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. ... Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (right flexor strain) pitched two scoreless innings in Triple-A Durham on Saturday and could return to the Rays as a reliever in August.

Right-hander Carson Spiers (3-2, 3.83 ERA) will start for the Reds against the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Springs will make his season debut against the Marlins on Tuesday.

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