Page 19 - He Rays News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

On a night when they were held to just two hits, the red-hot Atlanta Braves kept on winning. With right-hander Charlie Morton pitching into the seventh inning and Sean Murphy extending a power surge that has seen Atlanta homer in 24 straight outings, the MLB-best Braves began a weekend series between teams with the top two records in baseball with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. Murphy backed Morton (9-6) with a two-run homer as Atlanta won for the 19th time in 21 games to improve its record to 59-28.

Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner had RBI singles in the 11th inning and the Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay with a 3-1 victory Thursday night that extended the Rays' losing streak to a season-high five. Schwarber had a go-ahead hit from one knee against Ryan Thompson (1-2), the eighth Tampa Bay pitcher on a bullpen day, and Turner followed with another single. Matt Strahm (3-3) worked two hitless innings for Philadelphia, which has won 12 straight road games, one shy of the team record set in 1976.

The two teams have the best records in baseball and the best odds to win the World Series.

The Tampa Bay offense hadn't done anything all night and Josh Lowe wasn't due up at the plate until the sixth batter of the ninth inning. There's a reason the Rays have the best record in the majors and he figured he might be needed. Sure enough, Lowe was the man who delivered a two-out, two-run double in the ninth to lead Tampa Bay to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

PHOENIX — Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz and outfielder Randy Arozarena got off to good starts in the runoff election to win starting spots in the American League All-Star team lineup. After the first of four days of online voting between the top finishers at each position in the initial balloting, Major League Baseball released a Tuesday update (using percentages rather than vote totals) ...