Meadows hits 2 homers, Rays win 11th in row over Indians

CLEVELAND (AP) — Austin Meadows hit a pair of two-run homers, Ji-Man Choi had three RBIs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Cleveland 8-2 on Saturday night, extending their winning streak over the Indians to 11 games.

The Rays moved into a first-place tie with Boston in the AL East. They have not lost to the Indians since May 24, 2019. The franchise’s longest winning streak against an opponent is 12 against Baltimore in 2008.

Meadows, Choi and Brett Phillips each homered in the first three innings to help Tampa Bay build a 4-1 lead against J.C. Mejia (1-6). Choi also drove in runs in the seventh and ninth, and Meadows hit his second two-run shot in the ninth.

“Just an awesome job by everybody,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We got an early lead and that helped a lot, and there were a lot of big hits at good points of the game.”

Choi and Joey Wendle each went 4 for 5 for Tampa Bay, which has won five in a row overall and shares the best record in the AL. Choi doubled twice and scored three runs.

“I had some pretty good at-bats and I put the barrel on the ball,” Choi said.

Louis Head (1-0), a 31-year-old rookie, earned his first major league victory with two-plus innings of relief. The right-hander spent nine seasons in the minors — the first seven in the Indians’ organization — before debuting with the Rays on April 25.

“It felt like a dream come true, honestly,” Head said. “This whole year has been crazy from being called up on my birthday, pitching in my first game, and now getting my first win against the team that drafted me.”

Drew Rasmussen pitched the first three innings for Tampa Bay, allowing a solo homer by Bobby Bradley. Cleveland scored its other run in the sixth when César Hernández reached on Head’s error and...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Meadows-hits-2-homers-Rays-win-11th-in-row-over-16337875.php