Rays plan to stick with slumping Brandon Lowe

NEW YORK — There was some good news for the Rays on Saturday: Brandon Lowe got a hit.

The left-handed slugger snapped a hitless streak that had grown to 25 at-bats with a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning. For further encouragement, he fouled off six straight two-strike pitches from Yankees lefty Wandy Peralta in the ninth before flying to left for the game’s final out.

Lowe has been somewhat streaky over his career, alternating extended skids with sizzling stretches. But his latest had been somewhat extreme, even by his standards: 0-for-25, 1-for-31 in May and 2-for-43 since April 28.

But even before he broke the streak, manager Kevin Cash said the Rays plan to stick with Lowe, who in 2021 hit a team-high 39 home runs and came back healthy this year after missing much of 2022 due to a lower-back injury.

“I feel like he’s getting closer,” Cash said before Saturday’s game. “There was a lot of swing-and-miss. Now it seems like he’s making the adjustment, putting some more balls in play, he’s (hitting balls) just off the barrel. There’s been a couple just-misses, fly balls out to right field.

“So, good signs. Taking maybe longer than he would like. But we’re going to stay committed to him. He’s a big part of our offense. He has gone through some ups and downs. He takes them, wears them on his sleeve a little bit. But we know when he gets hot, he can carry a big workload for us.”

The Rays saw that this season, too, as Lowe homered in five straight starts between April 8-13.

Hi, Mom!

Rays players will all wear pink-trimmed hats for Sunday’s game, and many will use some kind of pink equipment, bats or accessories, in salute to Mother’s Day.

Catcher Christian Bethancourt has a full set of pink catcher’s gear, and his celebration of his wife and mom comes with a twist, as Mother’s Day in his native Panama is celebrated on Dec. 8.

Infielder Yandy Diaz has been doing his part for weeks already, wearing a pink belt and shoes to honor his wife, Mayisleidis, who is due in late July with their first child, a boy. “It’s for all moms, but mostly for my wife,” Diaz said via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “Also, I’ve been wearing them, and you see all the hits have been coming because of them.”

Zach Eflin is on the receiving end of a special treat, as his wife, Lauren, and oldest daughter, 19-month-old Ashton, flew up to New York Saturday to hang out and see him pitch on Sunday. (Their twin girls, born in late March, are staying home with other family and their nanny.)

“It means the world to me,” Eflin said. “It wasn’t even something that I brought up, it was just her spontaneously wanting to come up and be with me. So, she truly is the rock of the family, and I’m so lucky to have her in my life as well as our daughters. She’s the inspiration behind the whole family, so I can’t wait to see her and spend (Sunday) with her.”

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Miscellany

Diaz’s fifth-inning grand slam was his first in the majors or minors. He said via Navarro that after checking postgame video, the 98 mph Clay Holmes pitch he was called out on to end the eighth “looked like it was pretty far off.” ... Reliever Pete Fairbanks, out since late April with inflammation near his wrist, came through his 23-pitch Friday rehab outing with Triple-A Durham fine. Assuming he felt good playing catch Saturday afternoon, he will join the Rays in New York with the expectation he’ll be activated Tuesday. … Reliever Zack Littell, claimed on waivers Friday from Boston, is likely to join the Rays Sunday, which will require a move to open a spot on the 26-man roster. ... Saturday was the 18th time in franchise history the Rays lost when leading by six or more; last on July 27, 2019, at Toronto. ... Rays pitchers allowed six-plus runs and nine-plus hits in back-to-back games for the first time. ... Team officials likely will keep talking until Tuesday about who will take injured Drew Rasmussen’s spot in the rotation Wednesday against the Mets. Barring an outside acquisition, it will be a decision between prospect Taj Bradley and Cooper Criswell. “I’m confident in both of them,” general manager Peter Bendix said. “We’ve seen both of them pitch really well on the big-league level. We believe both of them are major-league starting pitchers. And so, in addition to that, we’ve seen pitchers get hurt. Whichever one we choose right now, the other one is also going to have an opportunity.”

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