Tampa Bay Rays defeat Cincinnati Reds 4-3 – MLB Update
The Tampa Bay Rays made a strong comeback to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday, June 28.
Having suffered a shut-out in the previous game on Monday, June 27, the Rays regrouped well to put in a good team effort. They rightly opted for some changes in the line-up which eventually paid off in the result of the match.
Jeremy Hellickson was replaced by David Price as the starting pitcher and the results were fruitful. Price was brilliant to watch with the ball in his hand. He threw 119 pitches and yielded 87 strikes. He gave away only two runs from the 7.2 innings he pitched
at a commanding ERA of 3.43. Price’s 12 strike-outs during the game inflicted the highest damage on the Reds. He now has 116 strike-outs this season, also surpassing the 400-strike-out mark in this game.
David Price was supported well by the relief pitchers, coming level with the task assigned to them. They were asked to contain and they rightly did so. Kyle Farnsworth held his nerves in the ninth inning to see the Rays home. Farnsworth ended up with his
third win of the season, his win-loss record now at 3-1.
The boys from Cincinnati could not reciprocate what they had achieved in the previous game, not in their pitching at least. Johnny Cueto started for the Reds, pitching 7.2 innings and conceding three runs in the process. His pitching was satisfactory but
in a low scoring game, every run scored holds equal importance. Logan Ondrusek was given the big responsibility to restrict the Rays from scoring the last run when the score was level at three runs each on the top of the ninth inning. Ondrusek failed to hold
onto the big Evan Longoria as he smashed one out of the park, scoring his tenth home-run of the season. Ondrusek recorded his third loss of the season. Longoria has been in sublime hitting form, slugging at .481 this season.
Johnny Damon opened the scoring for the Rays, crushing the ball 392-feet to the right to score his ninth home-run of this season. Damon has not been hitting well this season. With 1000-plus RBIs and 224 home-runs in his career, he has been a bit out of sorts
this season. His hit came at a good time for the Rays, when they required it the most.
The Reds managed to score their runs only as late as the eighth innings when Drew Stubbs and Edgar Renteria added one-run each to establish a one-run lead. Justin Ruggiano and Sam Fuld were quick to reply and scored one-run each for the Rays to hold lead
now.
It came to the wire in the ninth innings when Jay Bruce levelled things with a massive 425-feet hit. Longoria came to the plate for the Rays under immense pressure but it was Ondrusek who could not cope with the pressure and allowed Longoria to unleash a
monstrous hit to seal the night.
The win for Rays levels the three-game series at one apiece. It will be all to play for in Wednesday’s important clash.
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