logo
Rays Get 3 Homers, Strong Start From Pepiot To Avoid Sweep With 6-5 Win Over Athletics

Rays Get 3 Homers, Strong Start From Pepiot To Avoid Sweep With 6-5 Win Over Athletics

Al Arabiya02-07-2025
Josh Lowe, Yandy Díaz, and rookie Jake Mangum homered, Ryan Pepiot posted a quality start, and Tampa Bay avoided a three-game sweep with a 6–5 win over the Athletics on Wednesday afternoon.
Trailing 2–1 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Rays batted around and scored five runs. Lowe's leadoff shot tied the contest, Brandon Lowe followed with a double to extend his major-league-leading hitting streak to 18 games, and Díaz put Tampa Bay ahead with a two-run homer.
Pepiot (6–6) pitched six innings, allowing four hits and two runs – on Brent Rooker and Max Schuemann solo homers – walking three with nine strikeouts. He fanned five of his last six batters.
Mangum got the Rays on the board with an inside-the-park homer, crushing a slider to the deepest part of the park just out of reach of center fielder Denzel Clarke. The first such homer by a Rays player in two years, it was the 24th in franchise history.
Max Muncy also homered for the As, which got three hits from Schuemann. Second baseman Luis Urías departed in the sixth with right hamstring tightness.
Key moment Down 6–2 entering the ninth, the As quickly scored three runs. With Rays closer Pete Fairbanks unavailable after pitching the last two days, Edwin Uceta loaded the bases with one out, then fanned Rooker and Nick Kurtz to end the game for his first save of the season.
Key stat Rays pitchers recorded a season-best 17 strikeouts one day after fanning 15 Athletics on Tuesday night.
Up next The As return home to face the Giants on Friday, starting LHP JP Sears (6–7, 5.09). San Francisco is undecided on its starter. Tampa Bay begins a 10-game road trip at Minnesota on Friday with RHP Zack Littell (7–7, 3.61 ERA) on the mound. The Twins have yet to announce a starter.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarterfinals
Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarterfinals

Arab News

time12 hours ago

  • Arab News

Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarterfinals

CINCINNATI: Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka booked quarterfinal berths at the rain-hit ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Wednesday with straight-set wins. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Sinner shrugged off a mid-match rain interruption lasting nearly three hours as he advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Adrian Mannarino. He next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, defeated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5, winning a season-leading 50th match of 2025 and reaching her 29th career last-eight at the elite 1000 level. Sabalenka had to work after surrendering a second-set break, but she broke Bouzas Maneiro in the final game to seal the victory. 'The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve,' Sabalenka said. 'I was up a break, made a couple of mistakes and she broke me back. 'I'm glad to win in straight sets — I didn't want to stay for three hours.' World No. 1 Sinner, playing his first tournament since lifting the trophy at Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match win to gain his fifth quarterfinal of the season. The victory required patience, with the Italian who turns 24 on Saturday passing some of the afternoon weather pause by playing cards with his team. Sinner had won the first set and they were on serve in the second when they returned, but Frenchman's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match. The second set instead went to a tiebreak, with the Italian firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory. 'He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other players,' Sinner said. 'He can read the opponent well. 'It was a struggle to close it out, but I'm happy to be in the quarterfinals.' Earlier former champion Alexander Zverev polished off a weather-hit third-round victory, winning the final four points of a 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima. The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes, with the third seed set for a later fourth-round encounter against Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto winner, reached the fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Tuesday. Women's third seed Iga Swiatek and men's seventh seed Holger Rune both booked quarterfinal berths before afternoon showers struck. Wimbledon champion Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory. 'I wanted to be more solid than in my last match,' Swiatek said. 'I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency.' Rune advanced as 2024 finalist Frances Tiafoe retired with lower back pain with Denmark's Rune up 6-4, 3-1. The match was a re-run of a quarterfinal here a year ago, won by the American who went on to fall to Sinner in the final. Tiafoe received treatment on his back but it didn't seem to help as Rune gained control. The American walked dejectedly off court, carrying only a pair of shoes while an official carted away his massive tennis bag. Rune, bothered this season by his own injury worries, secured his 100th career hard-court win and his first defeat of a top 20 opponent since he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final in April. In another match interrupted on Tuesday, Magda Linette reached the fourth round at Cincinnati for the first time with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 upset of fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula.

NBA approves $6.1bn sale of Boston Celtics
NBA approves $6.1bn sale of Boston Celtics

Arab News

time16 hours ago

  • Arab News

NBA approves $6.1bn sale of Boston Celtics

NEW YORK: The NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of the Boston Celtics to an investment group led by Bill Chisholm, five months after the deal worth a then-record $6.1 billion was agreed. 'The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the controlling interests in the Boston Celtics to an investor group led by Bill Chisholm,' the league said in a brief statement. 'The transaction is expected to close shortly.' Chisholm is the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group. When he and his co-investors agreed to purchase the storied Celtics franchise 'at an initial valuation of $6.1 billion,' that was the highest ever offered for a North American sports team. It has since been surpassed by the $10 billion sale, in June, of the Los Angeles Lakers by the Buss family to billionaire Mark Walter. When the Celtics sale was announced, it was stated that Wyc Grousbeck would continue in his roles of chief executive officer and governor, overseeing team operations through the 2027-28 season. The Grousbeck family and Steve Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. But US media reported this week that Chisholm — a Massachusetts native who calls himself a 'die-hard Celtics fan' — will assume the role of governor because under the terms of the deal, Grousbeck will no longer have the required 15 percent ownership stake the league requires to hold that role. Nevertheless, ESPN reported that Chisholm and Grousbeck 'plan to run the team together as originally planned.' The Celtics are one of the most storied in the NBA's history, with a record 18 championships, the most recent in 2024.

Venus Williams to get new Barbie as part of Inspiring Women collection
Venus Williams to get new Barbie as part of Inspiring Women collection

Arab News

timea day ago

  • Arab News

Venus Williams to get new Barbie as part of Inspiring Women collection

Venus Williams has a new Barbie, this one part of the dollmaker's Inspiring Women collection. Williams' doll, to be released Friday, will celebrate the tennis great and pay equity champion with a doll wearing the uniform she wore while winning Wimbledon in 2007. Williams' win for the fifth of her seven grand slam titles was the first time a woman received equal prize money as the men at a top-level tournament. The doll, suggested to retail for $38, will feature Williams in all white with a green gem necklace, wristband, racket and tennis ball. Williams also had a Barbie doll released in May 2024 that highlighted nine trailblazing female athletes as part of Barbie's 65th anniversary celebration.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store