Brandon Lowe extends hit streak to 18 games in Rays triumph

TAMPA — At this juncture, Rays manager Kevin Cash isn’t sure what else he can say about Brandon Lowe’s plate approach.

He hopes to remain at a loss for phrases.

With his double in Wednesday’s decisive sixth inning, Lowe extended his hitting streak to 18 games, tied for third-longest in franchise history with Wilson Ramos (2018) and Quinton McCracken (1998).

“What can I say, hope it continues,” Cash said. “He’s seeing the ball well. The strikeout I think his first at-bat (in the first inning) on the check swing, he’s not letting that carry over into the next at-bat.

“When hitters are going like him, you’re covering pitches, you’re laying off close pitches to get the count back in your favor. And then when you get a pitch to hit, he’s really handling it with a lot of power.”

Lowe is batting .380 during his streak with six home runs, three doubles and 14 RBIs. It remains the longest active streak in the majors.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I’m really just up there trying to roll out team at-bats to better anything to help. There’s nothing selfish going on up there. If I go out there and I walk four times, I’m more than happy with walking four times. Four (sacrifice) flies, anything that’s going to help better the team. It’s a cool moment, but it’s not anything that’s on my mind.”

Mangum goes (inside the) yardRays outfielder Jake Mangum is pumped up after his inside-the-park home run during the second inning. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

Leftfielder Jake Mangum recorded the franchise’s 24th inside-the-park home run — and first of his adult life, college or pro — in Wednesday’s second inning when his 404-foot blast (with a 103.9-mph exit velocity) ricocheted off the centerfield wall.

It was the third inside-the-park homer in the majors this season.

“Off the bat, to be honest with you, I thought I got it to go over the fence, but I was wrong,” Mangum said. “So I was kind of watching the ball around first into second. Whenever I hit second, took off.”

Not sweating his approach

His latest home run — a game-tying, seventh-inning solo blast Tuesday night — was preceded by not so much a change in approach, but attire.

Shortly before that shot, Rays catcher Danny Jansen — known to wear the same long-sleeve or three-quarter-sleeve undershirt during a hot streak — wasn’t feeling comfortable in his own sweat, prompting a quick trip to the clubhouse.

“I just felt like I had the long sleeves on and by the fifth inning my jersey was drenched,” Jansen recalled Wednesday morning. “So I came in for another jersey swap, and threw a different shirt on underneath, different wrist tape, just switched it up a little bit.”

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Explore all your optionsRays catcher Danny Jansen, right, celebrates with outfielder Chandler Simpson after his seventh-inning homer on Tuesday night. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

Minutes later, Jansen sent a Justin Sterner four-seamer 377 feet to left for his ninth home run of the year, and third in his last seven games. And so perpetuated a plate resurgence in which Jansen has made few adjustments other than the occasional wardrobe change.

Saddled with with a .159 average through Tampa Bay’s first 30 games, Jansen has hit safely in 10 of his last 16 contests, and has reached base safely in 37 of his last 46 (.313 on-base percentage in that span).

“I think it was just one of those starts for me where perhaps I didn’t start off great, trying to uphill battle, trying to do a little too much extra stuff as far as in the box and things, instead of just kind of keep competing, keep trying to have good, quality at-bats,” he said.

“So I think for me, it’s a lot of a mental switch to that, and I’ve learned that throughout my career. It’s easy to try to chase hits, but when you just try to chase quality at-bats, good things usually come from that, so just trying to really home in on that.”

Jansen, who got the day off Wednesday ahead of a 10-day, 10-game road trip, finished June with four home runs, matching his career high for a month. His average has crept up to .199, and his nine homers rank fifth on the club.

“(Initially) it was walks, being selective, and it’s turned into maybe a little bit more aggressive power,” Cash said. “Now he’s doing a little bit of both. The power has started to tick up a little bit; he’s gotten some pitches. I mean, he really puts together good at-bats. He doesn’t expand before two strikes very often. He makes a pitcher come to him.”

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