In Sunday afternoon’s game against the visiting Kansas City Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays emerged with a 3-1 victory, splitting the four-game series. Jose Siri hit a home run, and Wander Franco contributed with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to lead the Rays to victory.
The Rays, who currently hold the best record in MLB, have had a slightly less successful stretch recently, going 6-7 in their last 13 games. They split a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics, who possess the worst record in the league. Nevertheless, Tampa Bay finished the first half of the season with an impressive 54-27 record, giving them a 4 1/2 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
Kansas City, on the other hand, fell to a 22-56 record and extended their winless streak in 11 consecutive series, marking the third-longest stretch of this kind in franchise history.
The game had a brief delay in the fifth inning when plate umpire Mark Wegner was hit by a foul tip from Randy Arozarena. Wegner walked off the field with a Rays trainer after being examined behind the plate.
The scoring started with Jose Siri’s solo home run in the third inning. Siri has been on a hot streak, hitting 12 of his 14 home runs since May 7. Tampa Bay’s other runs came in the seventh inning, with Siri scoring on a wild pitch by Taylor Clarke and Wander Franco adding a sacrifice fly.
Both starting pitchers performed well but did not factor into the decision. Kansas City’s Daniel Lynch allowed one run over six innings, while Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow struck out a season-high 12 batters in five innings.
The Royals tied the game at 1 in the fourth inning when Bobby Witt Jr. stole second base and scored on Maikel Garcia’s base hit.
Colin Poche pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Rays, and Pete Fairbanks closed the game in the ninth to earn his eighth save.
Looking ahead, the Royals’ Brady Singer is set to start against Cleveland’s Gavin Williams on Tuesday night. The Rays’ Taj Bradley will face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night as well.
The Royals have made some roster moves. RHP Jackson Kowar has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha after struggling with a 6.17 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Royals this season. In his most recent outing, Kowar allowed three runs on five hits.
In his place, RHP James McArthur has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha. McArthur, a tall right-handed pitcher standing at 6-foot-7, will be making his MLB debut if he gets the opportunity to pitch for the Royals. With Omaha, he had a 4.87 ERA and recorded 31 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings. The Royals acquired McArthur from the Philadelphia Phillies on May 8.
Additionally, infielder Matt Beaty has been placed on the 7-day concussion injured list after a collision with teammate Samad Taylor during a game against the Tigers. To fill the roster spot, outfielder Nate Eaton has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Eaton previously played in 27 games with the Royals this season before being optioned to Omaha on June 16. Prior to his option, Eaton was hitting .058 at the MLB level.
The St. Louis Cardinals bounced back from a shaky start and defeated the Chicago Cubs with a score of 7-5 in a game played at London Stadium. Manager Oliver Marmol expressed confidence in his team’s ability to overcome their early-season struggles.
The Cardinals managed to split the weekend series with the Cubs after a challenging first inning that saw the Cubs take a 4-0 lead due to errors committed by the Cardinals. However, St. Louis rallied and knocked out Cubs ace Marcus Stroman in the fourth inning, with Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI single giving the Cardinals a lead they would not relinquish.
Willson Contreras had an outstanding performance for the Cubs, going 4 for 4 with two runs scored. Marmol praised Contreras’s contributions and expressed his belief that Contreras could be a key factor in the team’s success moving forward.
Despite the Cardinals’ comeback, Marmol acknowledged that the team needs to improve their pitching and minimize defensive mistakes to sustain success. The Cardinals currently hold a record of 32-45 and have struggled to find consistency this season.
The Cubs missed an opportunity to reach a .500 record and halted their four-game winning streak. Although they have won 11 of their past 14 games, they have not been at .500 since May 12.
Jordan Hicks, who was out due to illness the previous day, recorded his fourth save in the past eight days, closing the game for the Cardinals. The Cardinals’ bullpen performed well, allowing only one run over 6 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals made several comebacks during the game, erasing the Cubs’ early lead with timely hitting. Errors by the Cubs’ defense also contributed to the Cardinals’ resurgence.
Looking ahead, both teams will have a day off to recover before beginning six-game homestands. The Cubs will host the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Cardinals will host the Houston Astros.
The MLB scoreboard for Sunday, June 25, 2023:
Minnesota 6, Detroit 3
NY Yankees 5, Texas 3
Baltimore 3, Seattle 2
Philadelphia 7, NY Mets 6
Toronto 12, Oakland 1
Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 6
Milwaukee 5, Cleveland 4
Miami 2, Pittsburgh 0
Chicago White Sox 4, Boston 1
Colorado 4, LA Angels 3
Arizona 5, San Francisco 2
Washington 8, San Diego 3
Houston 6, LA Dodgers 5
