ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WMDJ) — The Cincinnati Reds couldn’t complete the sweep on Wednesday, falling 6-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays, but still took the three-game series two games to one.
Tampa Bay did most of its damage early. The Rays scored three runs in the second inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Ben Williamson and Yandy Díaz, along with a sacrifice fly from Chandler Simpson that included a throwing error.
Junior Caminero added to the lead in the third with a solo home run to make it 4-0.
The Reds’ only run came in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from P.J. Higgins that scored Nathaniel Lowe.
Tampa Bay answered with another run in the fifth on an RBI single by Ryan Vilade and added one more in the seventh on a groundout by Caminero.
Cincinnati finished with five hits and went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
Starter Brandon Williamson took the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings. The bullpen allowed one additional run the rest of the way.
Despite the loss, the Reds leave Tampa with a series win.
Cincinnati has Thursday off before returning home Friday to open a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Great American Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m., with the Inside Pitch pregame show beginning at 6:10 p.m. on WMDJ FM 100.1.
