WASHINGTON — When the Nationals surprisingly designated Nathaniel Lowe for assignment in mid-August, younger brother and Rays outfielder Josh Lowe called the situation “interesting,” saying, “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Josh Lowe on Saturday seemed to show the Nationals what he really thought, delivering his first two-home run game in more than a year as the Rays won 4-1 to improve to 66-69.
Lowe said afterward he didn’t have revenge on his mind, that the only tie to his brother was now having “Uncle Pop,” as Nathaniel and his wife, Brenna, became first-time parents with Thursday’s birth of son Barrett Ray.
“I don’t really think of it that way,” Josh Lowe said. “I just think of it as another game, and either my brother’s there or not. This is the team he played for. No revenge or what-not. Just going out and having fun.”
But starter Ryan Pepiot said there was talk among the Rays of it being a revenge game as Lowe hit a three-run homer in the first and then a solo blast in the fourth.
“Honestly, some guys were saying that in the dugout,” Pepiot said. “Everyone was like, ‘For Nathaniel.’ Two homers, and two big ones, too. …
“They let go of his brother, and then he comes in here and single-handedly wins the game for us.”
Lowe didn’t quite do it all himself.
Pepiot, pitching for the second time under workload limits, posted five scoreless innings to match Drew Rasmussen with a team-leading 10 wins
And Junior Caminero made a tremendous barehanded play on a slow roller toward third to quell a bases-loaded rally and get the Rays out of the eighth.
But Lowe, who hadn’t hit a homer since July 30 and hadn’t hit another since July 2, deserved the headlines in what has been a frustrating and disappointing season with a .236 average, nine homers, 33 RBIs and a .688 OPS. He hadn’t hit two homers in a game since Aug. 3, 2024.
“It’s huge, just being able to produce for the guys when some days I feel like I haven’t been able to do that,” Lowe said. “To go out there [Saturday] and to provide offense and help the team win, it’s big.
“It’s a stepping stone for me to build on and to go out do some more good things [Sunday].”
The Rays would like to see Saturday be the start of a good finish for Lowe, who strained an oblique on opening day and missed 41 games, then recently sat out three over concern of a potentially similar issue.
“I think he needs to have a good month,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I know he’s going to press on himself to do that. And I think it’s going to be there for him to make the most of the opportunities this last month. We’ll see what happens.
“But I know that Josh, I think he would be the first to say that the injuries have not helped him, the timing has not been there. There’s just been too many inconsistencies. But he’s got [27] ballgames to really reset his season.”
Though Pepiot posted the five zeroes, allowing only one hit and striking out six, he was frustrated that he walked three and needed 93 pitches to get 15 outs.
He said he felt “pretty grindy,” which he defined as his mechanics being ”kind of out of whack,” limiting his command and control of his pitches, specifically his fastball.
What Pepiot was able to do was keep the lead, which Cash said was important. With the 4:05 start time, the shadows on the field made it tough for the hitters.
“Made the pitches when we had to,” Pepiot said.
Counting Saturday’s outing, which was his career-high 28th start, Pepiot has thrown 158 innings (a hefty hike from last year’s 133⅓). Cash said the Rays will continue to “be mindful” of his workload and “probably have to think about ways that we can really control it.”
Caminero had a hand in Lowe’s first homer as he worked a nine-pitch walk off Nationals starter Jake Irvin with two outs to get Lowe to the plate.
“I said, ”Josh, give me thank you,’ ” Caminero quipped in English.
His bigger contribution came in the eighth. The Nationals rapped three hits off Mason Englert to get one run, then — after Griffin Jax came in to get two strikeouts — loaded the bases when Jax apparently just missed on a 3-2 sweeper to Josh Bell.
Riley Adams hit a slow roller toward third. Caminero charged in, made a barehanded pickup and threw on target to first, a play that he practices at the conclusion of the Rays’ daily infield work.
“I feel very happy that I was able to help the team win,” Caminero said via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “Anticipation is the key to that play.”
Jax said it was a “huge” play stopping the Nationals “right there” and maintaining the three-run lead.
“Thankfully, Riley Adams isn’t the fastest runner,” Jax said. “But hands-down, a great play regardless.”
All in all, things seem to have worked out for the Lowes.
In getting released by the last-place Nationals, Nathaniel Lowe received his full $10.3 million salary. He signed with the playoff-contending Red Sox, then had a healthy baby. And Josh took a step Saturday toward putting a good finish on his season, with a boost from baby Barrett.
“For a day like [Saturday] to happen,” Josh said, “it was fun.”
