Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash is not the only one to blame
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe was a non-factor in the World Series for the most part
The bright 26-year-old Brandon Lowe had another disappointing playoff series in the World Series. Tampa Bay Rays fans were hoping Lowe would turn things around in the World Series after hitting his first home run of the 2020 postseason in Game Five of the ALCS against the Astros.
Up until the World Series, Lowe had recorded just six hits, striking out 28 times. He continued to struggle against the Dodgers pitching, striking out 10 times in six games which led the team. He did, however, hit three big home runs that propelled the Rays to win two games. But those three home runs that came in Game Two and Game Four were the only hits for Lowe in the World Series.
Lowe finished the 2020 postseason with a brutal .137 batting average, .196 OBP, and .305 slugging. The Rays second baseman is not just some platoon player, Lowe was an All-Star player last season and the Rays needed him. Lowe was arguably one of the best Rays hitters during the regular season so I cannot go easy on Lowe’s terrible postseason.
Lowe hit second in the lineup from Game One through Three, and hit fifth in Game Four, and cleanup in Game Five and Six. He was in a very important part of the lineup and he did not succeed, it is as simple as that. Especially as the second hitter in the lineup, part of Lowe’s role is to get on base and set the table for others like Randy Arozarena.
Lowe struck out too many times and failed to draw bases on balls as well. We can see that Lowe was not the only player struggling to get on base for the hot Arozarena because of his limited RBIs. Arozarena had several solo home runs because his teammates could not get on base, and I put a lot of the blame on Lowe who is a talented player.
I love that Rays manager Kevin Cash still had faith in Lowe to come up big for the Rays and he did on three swings but that was it. I felt like at some point, something needed to change whether that be moving him down in the lineup or even giving him a day off. I understand Cash’s thinking because Lowe was the Rays best regular season performer, but this time it did not work.