WASHINGTON — For the third time in the past four games, Brandon Lowe went yard.
The Tampa Bay outfielder launched his 28th home run of the season — a grand slam — to power the Rays to a 7-4 victory over the Nats on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. The win secured Tampa Bay’s sixth series sweep of the season, their fourth on the road and first since June 24-26 against the Royals.
Lowe’s slam — the fifth of his career and his first since March 29, 2024 — proved crucial after the Nats brought home a run in the third and three in the fourth to cut into the Rays’ lead. Only one of those four runs was earned, as Tampa Bay committed a pair of errors in the fourth that allowed those runs to score.
And despite getting into some trouble in that frame, Ian Seymour — making his second start since transitioning out of the bullpen — delivered five solid innings. Seymour allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk, with eight strikeouts.
After the fourth, Tampa Bay was able to keep Washington at an arm’s length through the remaining five innings largely due to Lowe’s long ball. But beyond the final result, that slam put Lowe just two homers away from 30 on the year. If (when) he reaches that mark, it will be the first time he’s hit at least 30 home runs since 2021.
That’s huge for Lowe, who is having his first mostly healthy season since then. He’s already passed his games played total from each of the past three years (107, 109 and 65, respectively), missing time just twice with left oblique tightness (July 8-18) and left ankle/foot tendinitis (July 20-30) — though he spent the minimum time on the IL both stints.
