After a successful homestand, albeit one capped by a pair of shutout losses at the hands of the Astros, the Tampa Bay Rays depart for the south side of Chicago, where they’ll start a four-game series against the White Sox on Thursday. The White Sox were most recently swept by the Blue Jays.
At 20-5 on the season, the Rays enter play 15-games over .500 and is in first place in the AL East.
Tampa Bay opened the series against Houston red hot, coming from behind on Monday to put up eight runs on the Astros. Yet, they could scarcely get a man on base in the final 18 innings of the series, resulting in back-to-back shutouts.
Brandon Lowe is in the throes of a no-good, very bad week, going hitless against the Astros while putting up an unsightly 56.5% K% over the last seven days. Opposing pitchers have adjusted to the dawg, and are only throwing him show-me fastballs at advantageous times, and breaking pitches well off the plate that he cannot seem to lay off. After a heroic walk-off against the White Sox last weekend, Lowe has slipped into a -2.3 wRAA/23 wRC+ malaise over the last few days. A change to a very hittable opposing pitching staff should bode well for him. Meanwhile, Josh Lowe, Isaac Paredes, Luke Raley, and Manuel Margot have all put up a sub 1oo wRC+ over the last week, too, although Margot did collect a pair of hits in the series finale versus Houston, so hopefully that’s something for him to build off of.
After getting swept in three games at the Trop, the White Sox could only muster two runs over three games against the Blue Jays. And while the Rays’ two-game series loss to the Astros was disappointing, the offense is still performing almost three times better than that of the White Sox over the last week.
All that is to say, flush the last series, and get back at it against a very beatable Chicago ball club.
Pitching Probables
Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will call upon Shane McClanahan (4-0, 1.86 ERA, 2.91 FIP), Zach Eflin (3-0, 2.81 ERA, 2.33 FIP), Yonny Chirinos (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.22 FIP) in some capacity, and Drew Rasmussen (3-2, 3.33 ERA, 2.51 FIP). Pedro Grifol will counter with Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.73 ERA, 3.67 FIP), Lucas Giolito (1-2, 4.50 ERA, 4.26 FIP), Lance Lynn (0-3, 7.52 ERA, 5.95 FIP), and Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.81 ERA, 5.42 FIP).
Shane McClanahan brought his best to the marquee matchup between him and Dylan Cease, striking out 10 and recording a club-record 32 swinging strikes while allowing two runs over six innings. The left-hander threw 66 of 80 pitches for strikes (83% strike rate), and racked up a career-high 32 swings and misses (40% SwStr). Pedro Martínez was the last pitcher to have as many whiffs as McClanahan. Martínez racked up 37 swings and misses in 2000 in a losing effort against the Devil Rays. All told, McClanahan owns a 1.86 ERA and a 2.91 FIP, with a 1.03 WHIP, and a 3.08 K/BB on the season.
Dylan Cease allowed three runs on six hits and one walk over four innings against the Rays on Saturday. He struck out five. Cease allowed a two-run home run to Randy Arozarena in the first inning and was pulled after throwing 101 pitches and surrendering back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fifth. The right-hander has given up three runs or fewer in each of his first five starts, although his four innings Saturday were a season-low. He currently sports a 2.73 ERA and a 3.67 FIP with a 2.62 K/BB through 26.1 innings on the season. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (2-7, HR, 2 RBI), Yandy Díaz (2-7, 3 BB), Wander Franco (3-6), Harold Ramírez (4-6, 3B, 2 RBI)
Zach Eflin allowed one run on three hits and no walks over five innings against the White Sox on Sunday. He struck out four. Eflin returned to the mound Sunday for the first time in just over two weeks and pitched very well for his third win in as many starts. Chicago got to him in the fourth inning, hitting a pair of doubles, but he otherwise felt little pressure throughout the day. Eflin has been a successful addition to the rotation thus far and heads into his next start with a 2.81 ERA and a 2.51 FIP, with a 1.00 WHIP, and a 16.0 K/BB over 16 innings.
Lucas Giolito allowed four runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings against the Rays on Sunday. He struck out five. Giolito was shaky early in his start, surrendering three runs in the second inning — including a two-run blast from Luke Raley, and then allowing a solo shot to Harold Ramírez the following frame to give the Rays a four-run lead. Following the Ramírez long ball, Giolito went on to retire 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and put up his longest start of the season so far. Giolito now maintains a 4.50 ERA and a 4.26 FIP, with a 1.18 WHIP, and a 4.67 K/BB over 28 innings. While his strikeout numbers have taken a dip to start the season, he’s been able to limit his walks.
Yonny Chirinos has yet to allow a run in three relief appearances (9.1 innings) and has maxed out at 46 pitches and 3.2 innings per outing. Kevin Cash could look to keep him around the 60-to-75-pitch or 4-to-5-inning range Saturday, although the right-hander should face minimal workload restrictions in his subsequent outings. So far, Chirinos owns a 0.00 ERA and a 3.22 FIP, with a 0.54 WHIP, and a 2.50 K/BB.
Lance Lynn allowed four runs on five hits and three walks over five innings against Toronto. He struck out four. Lynn posted three scoreless innings before getting into trouble in the fourth. After retiring the first two batters in the frame, the swarthy right-hander allowed five consecutive baserunners to reach, including a three-run homer by Cavan Biggio that gave Toronto a 4-2 lead. Lynn has allowed multiple runs in each of his five starts this season and has gotten through six innings just once. He currently maintains a 7.52 ERA and a 5.95 FIP, with a 1.78 WHIP, but a 2.46 K/BB through 26.1 innings. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (1-3, 2B), Brandon Lowe (2-6, HR, RBI, BB), Manuel Margot (4-6)
Drew Rasmussen allowed five runs on nine hits and two walks over 4.2 innings against the Astros. He struck out five. Rasmussen worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and held Houston off the board over the next three frames. However, he stumbled in the fifth, allowing five runs on six hits. The right-hander has held the opposition scoreless in three of his five outings this season, although he’s allowed 10 runs over his other two turns. Nevertheless, Rasmussen has a 3.33 ERA and a 2.51 FIP, with a 1.19 WHIP, and a 3.44 K/BB through 27 innings this season.
Mike Clevinger allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out three. Clevinger struggled to keep Toronto off the scoreboard, giving up six runs in the first four innings while failing to record a clean frame until his fifth and final inning. Danny Jansen started the offensive explosion, hitting a three-run homer in the second inning, plating Brandon Belt and Matt Chapman. Clevinger holds a 4.81 ERA and a 5.42 FIP, with a 1.60 WHIP through five starts, and is on pace to regress in strikeouts for the third consecutive season, currently sporting (the Devil’s share) a 6.66 K/9. He relies primarily on a 95 mph fourseam fastball that has slightly above average velocity and an 81 mph slider that has plenty of depth and sweeps across the zone.
The Music That Influenced This Preview
What to say about Warcycle? They play chaotic and distorted D-Beat/crust and are a part of the same scene that birthed No Future, Geld, Territory, and Gaoled. Absolutely crushing.