Highs & Lowes

 

There always seems to be one big squaring off of brothers that ends up being a big deal for a swath of time. Last year we had the Contreras brothers teaming up for the All-Star Game, and the Nola brothers meeting in the NLCS. This year's sibling rivalry of the moment seems to center around the brothers Lowe, Nathaniel and Josh. Nate has been an RBI machine for the Rangers for the past few years, and is contributing a great deal to their RBI-friendly 2023 team. Josh bobbed around between Durham and Tampa last year, much like Nate did starting out, only to become a fixture this year. 

And that's honestly the crux of the issue. Josh Lowe is accomplishing what Nate never accomplished in Tampa, which is becoming a lineup mainstay and anchor at a specific position. Nate played a lot of roles for the Rays during the truncated 2020 season, but just as he was beginning to come into his own during the postseason, the Rays realized they were better off without him, and flipped him to Texas for prospects that have yet to do anything. And now, as Nate finds himself in Arlington more than he ever did in Tampa, he sees his brother succeeding at the very thing he never could.

This is like Star Wars style thematic work. And this is just a small narrative in this season, between two of the best teams in the AL, and two teams that could very well get to October against each other.

What makes this even more Shakespearean is that Josh is having the better season right now. He has more home runs than his brother, with 11, as opposed to 7. And he has more RBIs than his noted RBI-machine brother, with 39 vs. his 37. The only place Nate has a leg up on Josh this year is defensively, but this comes after a few tricky years at first for Nate. Right now, Josh has the better year, and he's on the better team, as the Rays still have the best record in baseball, and have Wander Franco, Shane McClanahan, Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz playing exactly as they should.

And yet last night, the Rays somehow blew a game to the Athletics, who have a 6-game winning streak. Tonight is the night where the A's fans are doing a reverse-boycott, and to see a packed crowd flood the Coliseum against one of the toughest teams in the game would be incredible. It'd be even more incredible if the A's win tonight. With Shintaro Fujinami on the mound. I'd absolutely love it.

The Rays have so much going for them this year, including Josh Lowe besting his brother at what he does best, and while I still have my gripes with them [and their bullpen], there's a lot of great stories on this teams, and I can't deny that.

Coming Tomorrow- The Heat may have lost, and the Panthers may be losing, but Miami still has this guy to be excited about.