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Josh Lowe clubbed a pair of home runs while Zack Littell pitched effectively into the sixth inning as the visiting Tampa Bay Rays evened their three-game series against the Houston Astros with a 6-1 victory on Saturday.

Lowe, who went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, helped the Rays erase a 1-0 deficit with his sixth home run in the top of the fifth, a two-run shot that came with two outs on an 0-2 count. That 373-foot blast to right field came against Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco (9-6), who pitched in and out of trouble over his first four frames before he attempted to sneak a second consecutive fastball by Lowe with Brandon Lowe on first base.

Blanco allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings. Blanco stranded baserunners in each of his first four innings including five in scoring position before surrendering the two-run home run to Lowe. He is winless over his last four starts and has just one winning decision over his last seven outings.

Jon Singleton spotted Blanco a 1-0 lead with his ninth homer, a one-out shot that just cleared the right-field wall in the bottom of the second. Littell (5-7) limited the damage to that run in the second and worked around two singles in the third before retiring the final 10 batters he faced.

After Littell allowed one run on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, four Rays relievers took the baton and stifled the Astros the remainder of the way by combining to retire the final 10 batters.

Lowe socked his second home run of the game and seventh on the season with two outs in the seventh off Astros reliever Tayler Scott, who surrendered a leadoff homer to Yandy Diaz earlier that inning that stretched the deficit to 3-1.

Diaz and Lowe both took advantage of the modest dimensions at Minute Maid Park, with Diaz covering only 344 feet on his 10th homer while Lowe dumped a 339-foot shot into the first row of seats of the Crawford Boxes in left field.

Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe recorded a multi-hit game, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

Yordan Alvarez was the only Houston batter with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a double.

–Field Level Media