Rays don’t solve Justin Verlander but edge Giants again

Brandon Lowe capped a two-run eighth inning with an RBI single, five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a seven-hitter and the Rays recorded a second straight one-run road win over the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 on Saturday night despite a turn-back-the-clock performance by Justin Verlander.
Down 1-0 entering the eighth but with the Giants having turned the game over to their bullpen, the Rays got a break when No. 9 hitter Nick Fortes was hit by a pitch from right-hander Jose Butto (3-3) with two outs.
Chandler Simpson and Yandy Diaz followed with singles, the latter plating pinch runner Tristan Gray with the tying run.
Lowe then greeted left-hander Matt Gage with a single to left field, scoring Simpson with the eventual difference-maker.
Edwin Uceta (9-2), who pitched a scoreless seventh, was credited with his second win in two nights. Bryan Baker threw a 1-2-3 eighth before Pete Fairbanks pitched around a leadoff single and stolen base by Jung Hoo Lee in the ninth for his 22nd save.
Verlander, who is 1-9 this season, did not get a decision. He worked the first seven innings, leaving with a 1-0 lead after allowing just two hits and no walks. He struck out eight, one off his season high.
The scoreless effort was the 81st of Verlander’s 20-year career. He had been the winning pitcher in 62 of his previous 80 such games, including a 1-0 record with the Giants when his only win in 21 starts came after five shutout innings in a 9-3 win at Atlanta in July.
For the hard-luck 42-year-old, it was the 12th time this season in which he’s gotten two or fewer runs of support.
For seven innings, it appeared the Giants had given Verlander the only run needed for a second win when Christian Koss, San Francisco’s new third baseman in the wake of injuries to Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt, singled home Willy Adames with two outs in the sixth.
The hit came off Uceta, Tampa Bay’s third pitcher, after Rays starter Adrian Houser had matched zeroes with Verlander for five innings. The right-hander allowed four hits while striking out six with no walks.
Diaz and Lowe had two hits apiece for the Rays, who won a third straight despite not having an extra-base blow among their six hits.
Lee had two hits and Koss collected a single and a double, the only extra-base hit of the game, for the Giants, who lost their seventh straight, all at home.