ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Phillies had all the answers Wednesday night, and now the Rays have a season-high losing streak. Philadelphia rallied three times to come back and beat Tampa Bay 8-4 in front of 18,208 at Tropicana Field.
It was the season-high fourth straight loss for the Rays, leaving the Diamondbacks and Guardians as the only teams in the majors with no more than three losses in a row.
Tampa Bay (57-32) dropped back-to-back home games for just the second time this season and first since losing two straight to Houston in April. It has lost 13 of its last 23 games, dating back to June 10.
The Phillies clinched the series, just the second the Rays have lost at home this season. Philadelphia won its 11th straight road game and has won 22 of its last 28 games, dating back to June 3. The only team with a better record since June 3 than the Phillies is the Braves, who visit Tropicana Field on Friday.
The Phillies hammered the Rays’ patched-together pitching for 17 hits Wednesday, 10 shy of their season-high 27 hits allowed in a 20-1 loss to the Blue Jays on May 23.
Tampa Bay has to roll the dice again Thursday with another possible patchwork pitching plan to fill the spot of injured Shane McClanahan.
Opener Zack Littell allowed two runs on four hits over just two innings. Yonny Chirinos was charged with three runs on eight hits over 2⅔, Robert Stephenson allowed a run on a hit in ⅔ of an inning, and Luis Patino gave up two runs on three hits in two innings.
Colin Poche gave the Rays a scoreless ninth, scattering a hit. Jake Diekman held the Phillies hitless in 2/3 of an inning.
Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott had four hits, and catcher J.T. Realmuto had three. Only leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber did not have a hit for Philadelphia.
Tajuan Walker didn’t start out strong for the Phillies, but he ended that way. Walker was charged with four earned runs on five hits and five walks. He struck out eight over seven innings of work.
The right-hander shut down the Rays for his final four innings, not allowing a hit and retiring 12 of the last 14 batters he faced.
Brandon Lowe, playing in his second game since missing 27 with back inflammation, doubled in two runs in the bottom of the first.
The Phillies answered in the second, putting up two on RBI singles from Alec Bohm and Darick Hall.
The Rays responded with Taylor Walls drawing a walk, stealing second and scoring on Francisco Mejia’s RBI single in the bottom of the second for a 3-2 lead.
The Phillies fought back to tie the game at 3 in the top of the third on Realmuto’s RBI double, scoring Bryce Harper, who had doubled.
In the bottom of the inning, Luke Raley hit a towering home run, his 15th of the season, off the rightfield foul pole to give the Rays’ their third lead, at 4-3.
Trea Turner answered with his ninth home run of the season off the leftfield foul pole to lead off the fifth. Realmuto scored later in the inning on Bryson Stott’s single to give Philadelphia a 5-4 lead.
Nick Castellanos hammered his 14th home run of the season with two outs in the sixth to extend the lead.
Brandon Marsh brought in two more runs on a line-drive single in the seventh.
