Josh Lowe helps Rays complete sweep of Rockies

Josh Lowe hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning on Thursday, helping the host Tampa Bay Rays complete a series sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 5-3 win in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Randy Arozarena singled on a soft roller to third base off reliever Matt Koch (2-2) in the eighth inning.

Lowe followed by stroking a 111.2 mph rocket 452 feet to center field to stake Tampa Bay to a 5-3 lead. The homer was his 17th of the season.

Luke Raley belted a homer and a triple and Isaac Paredes also went deep for the Rays, who improved to 62-19 when scoring first this season.

In a bullpen game, the Rays trotted out five regular relievers with with the New York Yankees coming in to start a three-game series Friday.

Jason Adam (4-2) struck out five of the six batters he faced in two scoreless frames. Pete Fairbanks fanned the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances.

Tampa Bay outscored the Rockies 14-0 from the seventh inning on in the series and rallied for all three wins.

Colorado's Nolan Jones was 3-for-4 with a homer, double and three RBIs, and Charlie Blackmon had two hits and scored a run as the club lost for the 11th time in 14 games.

In a 99-pitch start, starter Peter Lambert tossed five innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out six with a walk.

To open the second inning of the series finale, Raley scorched a 428-foot homer to right-center field for a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, the lefty-hitting Raley sliced his third triple of the season off the left-field wall. With the infield drawn in, Osleivis Basabe lined a 2-2 pitch for an RBI single.

In a series that featured multiple lead changes, the Rockies grabbed another as Jones put them up 3-2 in the fifth inning after Brenton Doyle's double and Blackmon's single.

Jones smacked a three-run homer on a 376-foot drive that landed a few rows into the right-center stands.

Paredes tied it in the sixth inning by launching his team-leading 26th homer, a long ball to left-center off a 95 mph four-seam fastball from Tommy Doyle.