Rays win Battle of Bottom Teams

Chris Archer #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the second inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins on August 6, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

(Aug. 6, 2016 - Source: Brian Blanco/Getty Images North America)

The Tampa Bay Rays (45-64) win the battle of the bottom teams as they beat the Minnesota Twins (44-66) 7-3 in game two of their three-game series.

Tampa Bay took the lead in the opening inning. 2B Logan Forsythe hit a leadoff single and stole second base with one out. SS Brad Miller drove him home with a two-out infield single to put the Rays up 1-0.

A two-out home run from 3B Evan Longoria in the third and a one-out homer by C Bobby Wilson in the fifth gave Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.

Minnesota got on the board in the sixth inning. C Kurt Suzuki drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base on a one-out double from 2B Brian Dozier. 1B Joe Mauer grounded out next but Kurt Suzuki came home for Minnesota’s first run of the game.

The Rays responded in the bottom of the frame. Evan Longoria hit a leadoff single but was thrown out when Brad Miller hit into fielder’s choice. Brad Miller went on to steal second and third base. LF Nick Frankling eventually reached on fielder’s choice as SS Eduardo Escobar tried to throw out the runner at home plate but Brad Miller was called safe.

Tampa Bay wound up loading the bases with a single by DH Corey Dickerson and a walk from RF Steven Souza Jr. Nick Franklin scored on a wild pitch to put the Rays up 5-1.

Logan Forsythe added another run for Tampa Bay in the seventh inning with a leadoff homer.

The Rays scored one last time in the eighth. Steven Souza Jr. hit a one-out single and 1B Tim Beckham reached on Brian Dozier’s fielding error. Bobby Wilson followed with a single and drove in Steven Souza Jr. for a 7-1 lead.

The Twins cut the deficit to four runs in the ninth but it was a little too late. DH Miguel Sano led off the inning with a single. CF Eddie Rosario seemed to hit into a double play next but Logan Forsythe committed a throwing error, which allowed Sano and Rosario to advance to third and second base. 3B Jorge Polanco singled with one out and drove both runners home.

CL Alex Colome had to come in to close out the game and earned his 27th save of the season by recording the final two outs. He posts a 2.03 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP on the season.

Minnesota’s SP Jose Berrios (2-2) went 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 4 earned runs while striking out 4. He now has a 8.31 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP this year.

Tampa Bay’s SP Chris Archer (6-15) pitched 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks and 1 earned run while fanning 7. His ERA and WHIP improved to 4.26 and 1.32, respectively.

Logan Forsythe went 2-for-5 with 2 runs, 1 HR and 1 RBI. He is batting .277 and has 51 runs, 11 HR and 30 RBI this season.