back on the beam

Quietly, Desmond Jennings is making a nice comeback with Tampa Bay. While Chris Archer’s one-hit, 11-strikeout shutout was one of the buzz-generating stories in baseball on Thursday, much less attention was devoted to the hit that drove in the only run the Rays would score in the victory over Houston. Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College star, delivered the big run in the fourth inning with a two-out single off Collin McHugh. Jennings is 8-for-22 (.364) with two RBIs in six games since he returned from the disabled list, where he had been stuck since late April with a nagging knee problem. Jennings, batting .253 for the year, is now playing left field with defensive stalwart Kevin Kiermaier seemingly entrenched in center. Jennings has posted double-digit homer and steal totals each of the previous four seasons, and his contributions down the stretch could be important for a Rays team that is 60-61 and lurking on the fringe of wild card contention. He is also arbitration-eligible after this season. P.S. Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, sent down by Tampa Bay when Jennings was activated, is 6-for-14 with a homer in five games at Triple-A Durham. Butler, who got an opportunity with the Rays when Jennings went out in April, batted .278 with six homers and 22 RBIs in his 74 big league games.