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Pinch hitters Josh Lowe (single) and Ben
Rortvedt (groundout) tied the game with RBIs before Diaz slashed
a single to center to send home Lowe for a 3-2 lead.
Diaz and Brandon Lowe had two hits apiece for the Rays, who won
two games in the three-game series.
Tampa Bay finished 2-5 on its seven-game homestand and is 12-5
in interleague play.
Rays right-hander Taj Bradley (2-4) tied his career high by
working seven innings. He yielded two runs, both unearned, on
three hits and two walks while matching his career best with 11
strikeouts.
Pete Fairbanks turned in a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth
save in 10 chances.
Steele was brilliant over his six scoreless innings. The
left-hander allowed three hits and a walk while fanning five.
The Cubs produced just three hits, all singles, and Yan Gomes
had an RBI.
Chicago broke through in the top of the fifth by using some
small ball.
Following singles by Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner to open the
frame, Patrick Wisdom dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put both
in scoring position. Surprisingly, Pete Crow-Armstrong put down
a squeeze bunt, and Tampa Bay catcher Jackson dropped the throw
from third baseman Isaac Paredes for an error and a 1-0 lead.
The small ball didn't stop there.
Gomes executed a perfect squeeze play by topping a ball out
front of home plate, sending Hoerner across for a 2-0 lead. It
was the Cubs' third consecutive productive bunt.
In the ninth, after Fairbanks walked Busch with one out, Hoerner
rocked a one-hop smash that shortstop Taylor Walls gloved while
diving near second base.
Walls then flipped the ball to second baseman Brandon Lowe with
his glove to start a dramatic, game-ending, 6-4-3 double play.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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