Bulls' Lowe cranks three dingers

Earlier this year, Nate Lowe wanted to purchase the same watch sported by Triple-A Durham first base coach Quinton McCracken. But there was a bit of a bargain involved. The ninth-ranked Rays prospect wouldn't lay out the money for the U-Boat accessory unless he hit three home runs in a game.
But after Tuesday's performance he can finally go shopping. "I'm pretty excited, I'll probably fire up the ol' iPad and give it a look tonight," Lowe said.
The 23-year-old notched his first multi-homer game of the year and then went one better, circling the bases three times to lead the Bulls to an 8-2 win over the Knights at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The performance marked the sixth three-homer game in the International League this year and the first for the Bulls since Austin Meadowsaccomplished the feat last Aug. 29. 

Lowe earned his first call to the big leagues on April 29, hitting .257 through nine contests before he was optioned back to the Bulls on May 10. Getting sent down was a bit of a shock to the system, he said, and the Mississippi State product went through a slump that lasted most of May with a .216 average.
"May was tough, the first time getting optioned -- it was weird," Lowe said. "It took a full week-and-a-half, two weeks when I first came back [to Durham] to really enjoy playing baseball again. The big leagues are just head and shoulders above everything else, it's hard to get up. And we arguably have the best Triple-A spot in the entire Triple-A level in Durham." 
But then the 2016 13th-round prospect rebounded -- and then some -- by posting a .326 average and a 1.023 OPS with six homers and 21 RBIs. He showed discipline at the dish, drawing 20 walks to raise his OBP in June to .455.
Gameday box score
When all was said and done, Lowe said it came down to things finally clicking, keeping the right attitude and making sure he played as well as he could be with Durham. Even though he could be back with the Rays soon, he knows there are things he can fine-tune in the International League. 
"This is my big leagues right here, there's nothing I can do to tell anyone in charge to say, 'Hey, I'm going back to the Trop and you're going to put me back in the lineup,'" Lowe said. "It doesn't work like that, so the only thing I can do is put in a full effort here and not worry about anything else. If a roster move is made and I can help the team win, then so be it. But I've got to be the best I can be wherever I play."
Monday's 1-for-4 showing extended his hitting streak to seven games, but Lowe outdid himself during the eighth game of his stretch. 
After drawing a free pass in the first inning and grounding out in the third, he broke out a different piece of lumber in his third plate appearance. Lowe knew about starter Donn Roach's hard sinker, so he began the game with a newer 35-inch model bat. After the groundout, he went to a smaller 34 1/2-inch bat. And on the first offering from Roach in the fifth, Lowe used the smaller bat and smacked a liner over the wall in right-center field for a solo roundtripper. 

"I just felt stupid for grounding out and I had a lot of success with the other model I was using last year," he said. "After the second at-bat, I went to the clubhouse and grabbed the other bats and got back to just trying to hit the ball in the air. The rest worked out the way I wanted it to."
Two innings later with righty reliever Zach Thompson in the game and nobody on the basepaths, the Virginia native deposited a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right. With two outs in the eighth, Jake Cronenworth doubled to left and Kean Wong followed with a walk. Lowe worked the count full against Thompson before sending a high-arcing shot to right that cleared the wall. 
Lowe made sure to make a passing comment to his first base coach during his third trip around the bases.
"As I was running to first, I was more excited to tell Q, 'Let's go watch shopping," Lowe laughed.
The three dingers marked his first multi-homer effort at the Triple-A level and his first since last July 31, when he slugged two for Double-A Montgomery against Jackson. 

The first baseman, who went 10-for-38 over 10 games in the Majors this season, has batted .290 with a .938 OPS with Durham this year. He notched one hit against the Twins when he was recalled for a game on June 1 and hopes he can top that performance when he gets another opportunity. 
"Just being there a second time and getting after it was nice," Lowe said. "Obviously I would've liked to have stayed longer than 26-28 hours, whatever it was. The next time we go, we've gotta play better than we played last time and just keep working from there."
Cronenworth and Michael Brosseau tallied three hits apiece for the Bulls. 
Cole Sulser (4-3) earned the win in relief, allowing one hit and striking out two over 1 1/3 innings.