Zack Littell pitched five innings of four-hit ball before rain arrived, and the Tampa Bay relievers allowed one run once play resumed. The Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 in a game that ended just after midnight Wednesday. Brandon Lowe homered, Isaac Paredes drove in a pair of runs, and Richie Palacios had three hits, drove in a run and scored from third on a wild pitch by Brady Singer (4-5), the only run either team scored before the 2 1/2-hour delay.
When the game continued, the trio of Kevin Kelly, Colin Poche and Jason Adam surrendered just one run — Bobby Witt Jr.‘s homer in the sixth — before handing the ball to Pete Fairbanks. The Rays’ closer took care of the ninth to wrap up the win. Littell (3-5) was pretty dialed in, too, wiggling out of one last jam just as thunder began to sound through Kauffman Stadium. MJ Melendez had hit a two-out pitch to right in the fifth and CJ Alexander followed with his first career big league hit, only for Littell to strike out Kyle Isbel and leave runners on the corners.
Tampa Bay added to its lead when Palacios ripped an RBI double off John Schreiber in the sixth. Paredes added a two-run double off Chris Stratton in the seventh before Lowe homered off Nick Anderson in the ninth inning. Singer allowed one run on three hits and three walks over five innings for Kansas City. He escaped most of his messes except for the second inning, when Palacios singled, reached third on a double by Jose Siri and scored on his wild pitch. Singer has not won since May 19, going 0-3 in his last seven starts. But the lousy record is not entirely his fault. He’s allowed one earned run apiece in each of his last three starts, yet received two runs of support or fewer in 11 of 17 this season.
Today at 7:10 p.m., Kansas City is scheduled to play against Tampa Bay, with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. on Classic Hits KQNK. Michael Wacha (4-6, 3.91 ERA) will be the pitcher for KC, while Ryan Pepiot (4-4, 4.40 ERA) will be on the mound for Tampa Bay.
