Josh Lowe homers twice as Rays breeze past the Pirates 10-3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Lowe homered twice, including a three-run blast in the sixth that broke open a close game, and the Tampa Bay Rays breezed past the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-3 on Friday night.

Lowe hit a solo shot to right off Luis Ortiz in the third inning and went deep again with two aboard in the sixth to give the Rays a rare breather amid a string of tight finishes.

Tampa Bay entered Friday having had each of its previous four games decided in the final at-bat. There was no drama this time thanks to the first multi-homer game of Lowe's career.

“That's the goal right, to have a stress-free win,” Lowe said.

Lowe has endured two stints on the injured list this season due to a right oblique strain. Getting back into a rhythm has been difficult, though he believes he's starting to find himself in the batter's box.

He certainly looked comfortable when he sent an Ortiz pitch to a place few left-handed batters reach at PNC Park. Lowe's second homer crashed into the bleachers just to the left of the 410-foot notch in left-center.

“You know (Lowe is) trying to get that timing,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “And it certainly looked like he got it today ... to go (opposite field) here is really, really impressive.”

Ben Rortvedt added three hits, including a three-run homer in the ninth.

Jose Siri also had three hits and made a pair of spectacular catches in center. He chased down a line drive to left-center by Nick Gonzales leading off the second and ended the game by robbing Jack Suwinski of extra bases with a leaping grab at the wall.

“I think (Siri) is amazing teammates right now with how consistent his play is, how good he is out in the outfield and look, the quality of his at bats have completely turned around,” Cash said.

Yandy Díaz singled twice to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to a career-best 23 games as the Rays finished with a season-high 17 hits.

Colin Poche (1-1) helped Tampa escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by getting Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Bryan Reynolds hit his 11th homer of the season to push his hitting streak to a career-best 18 games. The left fielder is hitting .342 in June. Suwinski had an RBI double for Pittsburgh and Ke'Bryan Hayes added an RBI single.

The Pirates, still down a man in the starting rotation because of injuries to Martin Perez, Quinn Priester and Marco Gonzales, turned to their bullpen. The strategy has worked of late but not on the first night of a rare visit to Pittsburgh by Tampa Bay.

Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3) gave up a run in the first 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Ortiz. The right-hander who had hoped to make the starting rotation out of spring training has thrived in a long relief role this season but struggled on a steamy night with temperatures in the mid-90s.

Tampa touched Ortiz for six runs on 10 hits in four innings. He failed to retire the Rays in order once and things got out of hand in the sixth.

The loss came on a day Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said he's given general manager Ben Cherington the green light to seek trades that will help an offense that has kept the Pirates from emerging from a crowded if underwhelming NL Central pack.

Pittsburgh managed just five hits and only two over the final five innings.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Pirates: C Joey Bart (thumb) served as the designated hitter for Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday night. Bart will catch for Perez (left groin) on Saturday when Perez makes a rehab start. ... Utility player Ji Hwan Bae (right wrist) also made a rehab appearance for Indianapolis on Friday. ... C Henry Davis (concussion) is still showing some concussion-like symptoms and has yet to return to “high-exertion activities,” according to Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.

UP NEXT

Tampa Bay's Zach Eflin (3-4, 4.12 ERA) starts against promising Pittsburgh rookie Jared Jones (4-6, 3.76) on Saturday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, left, rounds the bases past Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes after hitting a solo home run off relief pitcher Chris Devenski during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, right, is greeted by third base coach Mike Rabelo after hitting a solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Chris Devenski during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Chris Devenski delivers during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz, right, is joined by catcher Yasmani Grandal, left, and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes waiting for manager Derek Shelton to remove him from the baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe, right, returns to the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. It was Lowe's second home run of the game.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe, center, celebrates as he returns to the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. It was Lowe's second home run of the game. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe heads to first base after hitting a single off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe hits a single off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot delivers during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe follows through on a single that drove in a run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Connor Joe, left, can't get to a foul ball hit by Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Díaz during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Díaz (2) singles in a run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski delivers during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

CORRECTS TO JOSH LOWE, INSTEAD OF BRANDON LOWE - Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz (48) during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Rortvedt, left, is greeted by Josh Lowe (15) as he returns to the dugout after scoring on a single by Brandon Lowe off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Siri, left, is greeted by Richie Palacios after scoring on a single by Yandy Díaz off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

CORRECTS TO JOSH LOWE, INSTEAD OF BRANDON LOWE - Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe, rear, is greeted by Richie Palacios as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe celebrates as he crosses home plate on a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. It was Lowe's second home run of the game.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe celebrates as he returns to the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Luis L. Ortiz during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 21, 2024. It was Lowe's second home run of the game.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A small Texas university has gone to court to object to the $2.77 billion settlement proposal that would erase a set of antitrust claims against the NCAA and the nation's largest conferences and clear the way for schools to begin steering millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as fall 2025.

Houston Christian filed its motion in federal court in California, arguing the settlement would divert funds from academics and marginalized and underserved populations as well as putting big-money college sports the over the needs of non-athlete students. The school contends its interests were not represented during settlement talks despite being an NCAA member.

Officials at smaller schools across the NCAA noted they were not consulted or informed about settlement details before they were announced last month and have said the financial impacts for them could be dire. The court filing by Houston Christian is first known official objection to the proposal, which will need approval from U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken to take effect.

Tyler Boyd, Houston Christian’s general counsel, said there could be more objections on the way.

“I think for other people that look into this case, it’s going to raise an issue of fiduciary responsibility,” Boyd said this week. “And whenever there’s a fiduciary responsibility issue raised, that goes to the core mission of the university, and are we living out the core mission of the university.”

The plan is intended to settle a host of federal antitrust claims and also clears the way for schools to share revenue with athletes, a dramatic step that all but ends the NCAA's longstanding amateurism model.

The defendants in the case included the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Bit 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences but also the NCAA, whose vast membership includes 1,100 schools that have athletic departments of varying sizes and budgets to match.

The NCAA will cover 41% of the $2.77 billion total — largely by lowering its annual payments to its member schools over 10 years — while the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will cover 24%. The next five largest college football conferences (American Athletic, Mid-American, Conference USA, Mountain West ands Sun Belt) will cover 10%.

The remaining quarter of the total will be covered by non-football conferences in Division I and by conferences that compete in the second tier of D-I football, the Championship Subdivision. Houston Christian is a member of the latter group, competing in the Southland Conference that has 10 schools and some 4,200 athletes.

“Even now, without the proposed settlement, NCAA member institutions annually lose untold millions of dollars by participating in Division I sports. Only a select few ever generate enough revenue from athletics to cover their expenses,” the school said in its motion to intervene — formally take part — in the case. “The proposed settlement institutionalizes the diversion of money that would otherwise inure to the member institutions for the core mission of education and research, by requiring them to pay damages for athletes’ name, image, and likeness and establishing a continuing formula for doing so on a go-forward basis.”

HCU said 95% of its approximately 2,500 students receive financial aid. Boyd said Houston Christian believes someone has to look out for smaller schools with limited resources.

“I think it’s certainly unprecedented, and this is uncharted territory,” he said. “And the reason for the intervention is really just to have our voice be heard during these unprecedented times.”

Boyd said he wouldn’t be surprised to see other challenges from smaller schools or others looking to join Houston Christian's fight. He said the case is not anti-athlete, but rather is in favor of supporting regular students.

“Those institutions are going to have to look at this case," he said. “And it’s certainly up to them if they would want to get involved with our intervention.”

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

FILE - In this April 25, 2018, file photo, the NCAA headquarters is shown in Indianapolis. Houston Christian University's U.S. district court case might be just the beginning of the challenges the NCAA and the major conferences will face as they sort out how their schools will be able to potentially pay athletes. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)