ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Harold Ramirez had three hits and drove in two runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Sunday.
Ramirez has a hit in all five games since returning Tuesday from a broken right thumb and is hitting .337 during a resurgent season.
The Rays have won seven of nine, and held opponents to three runs or fewer in eight of their last nine games.
Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke was lifted after allowing two runs and five hits over four innings. The 38-year old was checked by a trainer with Jose Siri batting with two outs in the fourth and retired him on fly ball after taking a warm-up throw, but was replaced by Jose Cuas to start the fifth.
The Royals are 2-8 on the road in August, getting outscored 48-15.
Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough gave up two runs and three hits in 4 ⅓ innings during an 82-pitch outing. Shawn Armstrong (2-1) went 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, while Pete Fairbanks worked the ninth to get his fourth save.
Ramirez put the Rays up 3-2 on a fifth-inning RBI single off Cuas (2-2) after the Royals had tied it in the top of the inning on MJ Melendez’s run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly by Bobby Witt Jr.
Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead on Ramirez’s first-inning RBI single and Christian Bethancourt’s solo homer in the second.
Kansas City’s Brad Keller, who gave up five runs and six hits in two-thirds of an inning Thursday in his first relief appearance since being dropped from the rotation, allowed one hit and struck out three in two scoreless innings.
WRONG REVERSAL
Yarbrough struck out Vinnie Pasquantino leading off the third after the four umpires met at the request of Rays manager Kevin Cash and decided that Bethancourt caught a foul tip. Plate umpire Ben May originally called it a foul ball and TV replays showed that the ball did bounce in the dirt before being caught. The play is not reviewable by video.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: SS Wander Franco (right hamate bone surgery) was removed from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham due to ongoing hand soreness. He departed his first rehab game Tuesday with the soreness and hasn’t played since.
UP NEXT
Royals: LHP Daniel Lynch (4-8) and Chicago White Sox RHP Michael Kopech (4-9) are Monday’s scheduled starters.
Rays: Start a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night with Tampa Bay LHP Jeffrey Springs (5-3) facing LHP Tucker Davidson (2-3). Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is not scheduled to pitch during the series but is hitting .406 (26 for 64) with six doubles, three triples, eight homers and 19 RBIs in 17 games against the Rays.
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