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LBWMF: Rays drop opening game of series to Red Sox, 9-3

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If Chris Archer threw his bullpen session with a compression sleeve on his arm, perhaps he wasn’t ready and/or healthy enough to make a start last night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Here’s the deal: some of us — like me — are busy making hurricane contingencies. As with the Tampa Bay Rays’​ players who live locally, this is a scary moment for all of us who live in the area. With that in mind, below is Neil Solondz’s (Rays Radio) recap of Friday night’s disaster of a ball game:

Chris Archer’s return to the mound on Friday got off to a tough start at Fenway Park. The Rays (70–72) and Archer never recovered, and fell to Boston 9–3 in the opener of a three-game set against the top team in the AL East.

Archer was coming off a Saturday start where he left after allowing a pair of homers in Chicago due to forearm tightness. This outing didn’t go better, as Archer allowed a ground single to center by Dustin Pedroia, then an opposite field bloop double to Andrew Benintendi to begin the first. Then Mookie Betts tucked a fly ball to right just inside the Pesky pole for a three-run homer, and a 3–0 Boston lead.

Archer eventually threw 33 pitches in the first. After a scoreless second and third, Archer didn’t retire a batter in the fourth.

Rafael Devers looped an opposite field double to left, and Christian Vazquez dumped a single to right where Steven Souza Jr injured his left knee near the side wall. With men at the corners, Jackie Bradley Jr singled to center, making it 4–0. Dustin Pedroia grounded to first, and Logan Morrison mishandled it for a run-scoring error. Benintendi then hit a grounder through the middle for a 6–0 advantage, chasing Archer.

Chaz Roe entered, and walked Mookie Betts to load the bases. Hanley Ramirez singled to left, scoring a run to make it 7–0. Mitch Moreland then grounded into a double play, scoring the fifth and final run of the frame, to make it 8–0.

Tampa Bay went without a hit until the fifth against Drew Pomeranz before Brad Miller singled through the middle with one out. Jesus Sucre then belted a two-run homer into the Monster seats in left, his fifth, to get the Rays on the board.

The Rays had one chance to get back into the game against the Red Sox bullpen in the seventh. Joe Kelly allowed a pair of hits and a walk, and left with the bases loaded and one out. Addison Reed got former Mets teammate Lucas Duda to loop a ball to right. Dustin Pedroia had the ball go off his glove, but recovered to force Kevin Kiermaier at second, as a run scored to make it 8–3. Evan Longoria then hit a bullet toward second that Pedroia extended for and caught, ending the inning.

Christian Vazquez doubled in a run with two out in the seventh against Ryne Stanek, answering that tally and capping the scoring. That was the only run allowed by the Rays bullpen over the final five innings, but the damage already had been done.

The New What Next

The Rays will play the second game of the series on Saturday night with Matt Andriese (5-2, 3.78 ERA, 4.79 FIP) starting opposite Chris Sale (15-7, 2.85 ERA, 2.20 FIP).

Andriese made his first start since returning from a hip injury on Sunday … although he posted a dud, allowing five earned runs on six hits over five innings against the Whit Sox. Nevertheless he earned a win in Boston on May 14th in a 5.0 IP/4 H/2 ER/4 BB/5 K outing.

Sale is in the throes of his first slump of the season, having lost three of his last four starts. The southpaw was tagged for three solo homers, including the first back-to-back job he’s allowed in his big league career. The Yankees did as they are wont to do, fouling off a ton of balls, working over Boston’s ace, and subsequently getting his pitch count up to 109 before he was pulled from the game. The left-hander’s experienced a drop-off since the calendar flipped to August, performing to a 4.57 ERA, while allowing seven homers in as many starts. As it was written elsewhere, his performance in 2017 mimics a career pattern of tailing off in the final two months of seasons past; Sale’s ERA is under 3.00 from April to July in his career, but it’s over 3.00 in August and closes in on 4.00 in September/October. Still, Sale is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in four starts against Tampa Bay this season. Key Matchups: Curt Casali (2-6, 2B, HR, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (3-8, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (5-14, HR, RBI, BB), Trevor Plouffe (14-49, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Wilson Ramos (3-6, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)

You can read about the series, and I’ll post the starting lineup upon availability.

Rays 9/9/17 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Puello LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Plouffe DH
Ramos C
Hechavarria SS
Bourjos RF
Espinosa 2B
Andriese RHP

Noteworthiness

— Souza is out of tonight’s lineup as expected, with Peter Bourjos taking over in right field, and Cesar Puello holding it down in left.

— Two of Marc Topkin’s (Tampa Bay Times) takeaways from last night’s game were particularly on point:

  1. Starting RHP Chris Archer turned out not to be such a good thing. Archer unexpectedly deemed himself ready to go after leaving last Saturday’s start due to forearm tightness, but though he looked healthy, he didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
  2. Losing RF Steven Souza Jr., who left Friday’s game with a bruised left knee, for any amount of time will be a serious blow to the lineup. Though slumping of late, Souza has been one of the Rays’ most productive players overall and is capable of getting hot and carrying them.

The New What Next: Rays Vs. Red Sox — a series preview

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Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run blast in the fifth inning of Thursday’s series finale with the Twins. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

A pair of AL East rivals, with their sights set on playing postseason ‘ball, will open up a weekend series on Friday in Boston, when the Tampa Bay Rays start a three-game set against the Red Sox. Tampa Bay missed a chance to sweep the Twins on Wednesday, falling 10-6, while Boston won the rubber match of their series with Toronto, 6-1.

Most recently, the Red Sox swept a two-game road series against the Rays on August 8-9.

(Stats: ESPN)

Tampa Bay is still in the thick of the Wildcard race, although they need to get something going in order to gain ground on Minnesota, who starts Friday 3-1/2 games ahead of the Rays for the last Wildcard spot. Boston leads the pack in the AL East, although the team hasn’t played the best baseball of late — having dropped four of their last seven, while scoring 42 runs over the last 14 days; an average of three runs per game over that stretch. Compare that to the Rays, who’ve plated 61 runs over the same span (4.4 runs per game) thanks in part to a beefy .232 ISO.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

The key for Tampa Bay will be for the offense to get things started early against Boston, as it’s had a pretty lock down bullpen over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff must step up and hold any leads, no matter how big or small. Ahem,  that’s not going to be an easy task against a team who uses technology to steal signs. I digress.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next three days Kevin Cash will lean on Chris Archer (9-8, 3.76 ERA, 3.32 FIP), Matt Andriese (5-2, 3.78 ERA, 4.79 FIP), and presumably* Alex Cobb (10-9, 3.64 ERA, 4.18 FIP). John Farrell will counter with Drew Pomeranz (14-5, 3.36 ERA, 3.79 FIP), Chris Sale (15-7, 2.85 ERA, 2.20 FIP), and Rick Porcello (9-16, 4.67 ERA, 4.57 FIP).

*The starter in the series finale has not been officially announced.

Pitching Matchups

Archer exited two batters into his last start against the ChiSox because of right lateral forearm tightness. Although he received a clean bill of health from team doctor Koco Eaton and will aim for his third career win against Boston, against whom he is 2-11 with a 5.06 ERA. In his last normal start, Archer limited the Cardinals to one run on five hits over seven innings on Sunday. The only blemish on the right-hander’s ledger was a seventh-inning home run by Kolten Wong. Part of his recent spate of dominance has to do with the fact that Archer is walking fewer batters and striking more of them out, posting a 69/9 K/BB in his last 50-1/3 innings of work over his past seven starts. He is 2-0, but with a 5.40 ERA in four games (three starts) on the south side of Chicago, and 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in six starts against the White Sox.

Pomeranz had his first mishap in nine weeks in his last turn, allowing four runs on eight hits over 5-1/3 innings against the Yankees — his first loss since June 11. The southpaw allowed a pair of homers, representing the only runs the Yankees could score. It was the first time he allowed multiple homers in a start since early May, so it might be best to view the underwhelming outing as a blip on the radar. After all, Pomeranz sports a 3.36 ERA/1.38 WHIP/9.4 K:9 in 2017, and is 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 13 starts at home this season. Be that as it may, he is 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA in three starts (13-1/3 IP) against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Brad Miller (9-18, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB), Wilson Ramos (1-2, 2B, RBI, BB)

Andriese made his first start since returning from a hip injury on Sunday … although he posted a dud, allowing five earned runs on six hits over five innings against the Whit Sox. Nevertheless he earned a win in Boston on May 14th in a 5.0 IP/4 H/2 ER/4 BB/5 K outing.

Sale is in the throes of his first slump of the season, having lost three of his last four starts. The southpaw was tagged for three solo homers, including the first back-to-back job he’s allowed in his big league career. The Yankees did as they are wont to do, fouling off a ton of balls, working over Boston’s ace, and subsequently getting his pitch count up to 109 before he was pulled from the game. The left-hander’s experienced a drop-off since the calendar flipped to August, performing to a 4.57 ERA, while allowing seven homers in as many starts. As it was written elsewhere, his performance in 2017 mimics a career pattern of tailing off in the final two months of seasons past; Sale’s ERA is under 3.00 from April to July in his career, but it’s over 3.00 in August and closes in on 4.00 in September/October. Still, Sale is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in four starts against Tampa Bay this season. Key Matchups: Curt Casali (2-6, 2B, HR, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (3-8, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (5-14, HR, RBI, BB), Trevor Plouffe (14-49, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Wilson Ramos (3-6, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)

Cobb held the Twins to one run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven over 5-2/3 innings on Monday night. After giving up his only run in the first inning Cobb went to work, putting down 12 of the next 13 batters on six strikeouts, a double play, and five ground ball outs — keeping the Rays in the ball game until they could break things open in the sixth inning.

Porcello continues to be victimized by the long ball, as he was taken deep three times by Toronto in his last turn; he has given up 35 homers on the season. He has now given up at least three home runs three times this season, and has given up multiple homers a whopping 10 times. Porcello has eclipsed his career high in homer runs by 10, the main reason he’s performed to a 4.67 ERA this season. After dominating the league in 2016, Porcello is 6-10 with a bloated 5.38 ERA at Fenway, and 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA in four starts (24-1/3 IP) against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (2-7), Curt Casali (3-10), Corey Dickerson (8-32, 4 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Danny Espinosa (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (14-55, 6 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB), Brad Miller (10-32, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 4 BB), Brad Miller (10-32, 3 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB), Logan Morrison (10-34, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI), Mallex Smith (2-8, 3B), Steven Souza Jr. (9-30, HR, RBI, BB)

Noteworthiness

— Did you hear about the newest bobblehead giveaway by the Red Sox, expected at some point this weekend?

(Photo Credit: Mad Magazine)

— Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), The Rays likely won’t know until Saturday where they are headed after Sunday’s game, as Hurricane Irma might force rescheduling or relocation of a series with the Yankees slated to start Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Discussions between the Rays and Major League Baseball officials have been ongoing based around the forecast path of the storm, potential impact on the bay area and travel logistics. Both sides agreed, given the uncertainty, to wait until Saturday to make a decision.

Most likely options are pushing the series opener back to Tuesday, then playing a doubleheader Wednesday at the Trop, playing the games at a neutral site (Baltimore seems the choice), or playing in New York.

“We are monitoring the storm carefully and are in regular communication with MLB regarding our options,” team president Brian Auld said Thursday. “Right now, our focus is on safety first and foremost.”

The Rays left Thursday afternoon for Boston, with players and traveling staff allowed to bring their families on the flight. Team offices were closed starting Thursday.

LBWMF: Odorizzi one-hits the Twins while the Rays win their second straight, 2-1

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Jake Odorizzi was impressive Tuesday night, tossing 6-2/3 innings of one hit baseball. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Jake Odorizzi threw no-hit ball for 6-1/3 innings on Tuesday night, while Lucas Duda homered and drove in both of Tampa Bay’s runs. When all was said and done, the Rays held on to a slim lead against Minnesota, defeating the Twins 2–1. Tampa Bay now has won the first two games of their series with the AL Wildcard leaders, and end the night two-games back with 22 left to play.

Odorizzi retired the first 12 batters in order, thanks to a lively cut fastball that kept Minnesota’s batters off-balance for much of the night. The right-hander worked the four quadrants of the zone very effectively, especially up in the zone (if not above it), coaxing a fair number of swings and misses, as well as weak fly-ball outs that — surprising to most — stayed inside the park. When he didn’t throw his cutter, he leaned on a plus curveball which he used to get ahead of lefties. Minnesota didn’t get its first baserunner until the fifth inning, when Eddie Rosario led off the frame with a walk, although he was quickly erased on a 6-4-3 double play.

The Twins didn’t collect their first hit until the seventh inning after Joe Mauer slapped a sharp grounder up the middle that ricocheted off of second-base and high up into the air. Adeiny Hechavarria was able to field the ball barehanded, however, he couldn’t couldn’t throw out the hustling Mauer. Odorizzi struck out the next hitter, then was pulled in favor of LOOGY Dan Jennings afterward. He struck out seven.

Bartolo Colon allowed just two earned runs while scattering five hits over 6-2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Duda broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the fourth inning — his 27th of the season.

Duda plated the second run in the bottom of the sixth, driving in Evan Longoria on a double off the right-field wall.

Moments That Mattered

— With runners on the corners in the sixth inning, reliever Steve Cishek, who took the mound in relief of Jennings, was able to get Byron Buxton to fly out to centerfield to end the threat. Cishek has not allowed a run in 17 appearances since joining the Rays (18 IP).

— Robbie Grossman, in his first game since being activated from the disabled list, led off the ninth inning against Alex Colome with a solo homer to right field, pulling the Twins within a run. Colome walked Mauer before he allowed a single by Polanco to put runners on the corners with just one out. The right-hander came back to coax a 6-3 double play to end the game.

If I may, Colome made things a little too interesting, and he owes Hechavarria at least a beer.

The New What Next

The Rays look to sweep Minnesota in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon with Blake Snell (3-6, 4.02 ERA, 4.37 FIP) on the mound. He will be opposed by 6′ 10″ right-hander Aaron Slegers (0-0, 2.84 ERA, 5.19 FIP).

Snell pitched well in his last start, tossing 6-2/3 innings of one-run ball on an efficient 85 pitches. At times he worked ahead of batters, and at others he fell behind. However, he did a good job to battle and get back into those at-bats. Snell took advantage of an aggressive White Sox lineup, although he wasn’t dominant per se. In all fairness, the southpaw was helped in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings by ground ball double plays — each of which was started by Adeiny Hechavarria.

Slegers will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to make his second big league start. The right-hander struck out 10 batters in each of his last two outings in the Minors.

The scouting report on Slegers (per Puckett’s Pond):

Fastball (55) – Slegers will work typically around the 90 MPH mark with his fastball, usually working 90-92, touching 94. What makes his fastball effective is the plane he gets from his 6’10” height and the tremendous late vertical movement he gets on the pitch, with a bit of arm side sink. When he “dips” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot, he can get a touch of cut on his fastball as it moves in on lefty hitters.

Change Up (50) – Slegers does not get the same sort of movement on his change as he does on his fastball, which does make the pitch easier to distinguish, but he has excellent arm deception on the pitch. If he struggles in location on a pitch, it seems as if this is the pitch he struggles most on, however, and the more “straight” movement on the pitch allows the ball to get driven hard.

Slider (45) – Many guys get a “sweeping” slider from a tall angle, but Slegers typically has more of a slurvy slider that has a short horizontal break as well as vertical break. While the pitch would be an excellent ground ball pitch in the lower third of the zone, he seems to get better break on the pitch when he works the ball roughly thigh-high to belt-high. Slegers also can get more of a sweeping movement to lefties by “dipping” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot. The fact that the pitch’s movement is fairly gradual and not exceptionally sharp is what keeps the pitch from rating higher.

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 8/6/17 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Dickerson DH
Longoria 3B
Duda 1B
Souza Jr. RF
Miller 2B
Hechavarria SS
Smith LF
Sucre C
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the Rays are making contingency plans as Hurricane Irma approaches. As we noted on Tuesday, the team pushed their departure to Boston back from Wednesday until Thursday afternoon to allow more time for players and traveling staff to get their families situated or headed out of town.

They also will pack for extra days in case they can’t fly back into TIA as planned on Sunday night and/or if next week’s series against the New York needs to be relocated from Tropicana Field.

Topkin writes,

Rays executives expect to talk extensively today with Major League Baseball officials about that scenario, with a decision expected by Friday.

The most logical option would be to play the games at Yankee Stadium as the home team, but while convenient, that would present a competitive disadvantage. The Rays visit Yankee Stadium Sept. 26-28, but it’s unlikely they would seek to swap series given the revenue difference.

Another option would be to play at a neutral site, as the Astros and Rangers did at the Trop last week due to Hurricane Harvey damage in Houston. Available options in the northeast could include the Mets’ Citi Field and the Orioles’ Camden Yards.

…Of Chris Archer, more Rays September call-ups, and hurricanes

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(Photo Credit: MLB.com)

Lots of Tampa Bay Rays relevant news on this Tuesday afternoon, ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Minnesota Twins.

Chris Archer played catch this afternoon at Tropicana Field and said it went very well. The right-hander is still hopeful that he will be able to pitch in the weekend series against Boston depending on how he feels tomorrow, although it was announced that Austin Pruitt will start Friday’s contest. Last night the Rays received good news on the status of Archer, who was pulled from Saturday’s contest due to right lateral forearm tightness after throwing just eight pitches. Archer’s exam with team doctors showed no structural damage to his right arm.

In other injury news, Jake Faria (left abdominal strain) tossed a three inning simulated game at the Trop and told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) that he felt really good about how he pitched and how he felt.

The team announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, promoting RHP Chaz Roe, LHP Jose Alvarado, and OF Mallex Smith. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Roe, the team recalled RHP Taylor Guerrieri then placed him on the 60-day DL.

Tampa Bay acquired Roe — who has pitched in a combined 93 big league games with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, Orioles and Braves —  from Atlanta on July 18 in exchange for cash considerations. During his time with Triple-A Durham, he performed to an 0-3 record but a 3.00 ERA over 21 innings, while striking out 35 of 88 batters (40%).

Roe said he was excited to get back to the Major Leagues after a hectic bout with things before his acquisition by the Rays.

Finally, the Rays met this afternoon to discuss the logistics related to Hurricane Irma. The plan over the short-term is to leave for Boston on Thursday, giving the teammates an extra day with their families for storm preparations. As for how it may effect the team on their pending home stand against the Yankees, that situation is fluid. The players and staff will pack for extra days just in case the series needs to be relocated to the Bronx, or another neutral site.

LBWMF: Tampa Bay Rays, Steven Souza Jr. pummel the Twins, 11-4

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Steven Souza Jr. and the Rays pummeled their way to an 11-4 victory over the Twins Monday night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays opened the crucial series with Minnesota in dramatic fashion Monday night, pummeling the Twins — both literally and figuratively — 11-4. Tampa Bay ended the night one-game under .500 and three-games back of the Twins in the Wildcard race, with 23 games left to play.

Tampa Bay found itself with an early scoring opportunity in the first inning after Kevin Kiermaier lashed a double to left. He inevitably made his way to third base with none out on a passed ball by Jose Berrios. However, the Twins’ right-hander put down the next three batters (Lucas Duda, Evan Longoria, and Logan Morrison) in order on a pair of strikeouts and a pop-out. It looked like the start of another one of those games by the Rays, thanks to a presumed listless offense.

Adding insult to injury, the Twins took a 1-0 lead against Alex Cobb in the top of the second inning, after Byron Buxton singled to right field then promptly swiped second — his 20th stolen base in a row without being nabbed. He later scored on Max Kepler’s base hit to right. Yet from there Cobb went to work.

Alex put down 12 of the next 13 batters on six strikeouts, a double play, and five ground ball outs — keeping the Rays in the ball game until they could break things open in the sixth inning.

Down by a run in the second, the Rays tied the game on Corey Dickerson’s line drive homer to centerfield.

It was Dickerson’s 26th homer of the season, snapping an 0-for-13 skid at the plate.

Tampa Bay played aggressive ball in the third inning, and consequently took a one-run lead. After Kiermaier singled to right with one out, he stole his way into second base before he came home on Longoria’s bloop single to right — Longo’s 74th RBI of the season.

The Rays remained quiet for the next three innings while Cobb kept the Twins in check until the sixth, when he was pulled after two outs with Joe Mauer at third. Dan Jennings got the final out of the frame on one pitch, getting Eddie Rosario to groundout to second to end the threat.

The red hot Morrison helped the Rays break the game open in the bottom of the inning with a single to center off Berrios. LoMo moved up to second when Souza worked a full count walk, before Dickerson drove him home on a double to right-center, extending the lead to a pair. With the game in the balance, Paul Molitor pulled Berrios in favor of Ryan Pressly.

Pressly fanned Wilson Ramos for the first out of the inning before Brad Miller was walked intentionally, loading the bases. Adeiny Hechavarria followed with a liner to center, while Souza tagged up from third and scored on Byron Buxton’s throw home.

Souza, playing the part of clock cleaner, plowed through Matt Garver, allowing him to safely cross the plate. He, however, left the game with neck/back soreness following the collision, and is listed as day-to-day.

All the baserunners moved up 90 feet, and Kiermaier singled to center off southpaw Buddy Boshers scoring two runs, pushing the lead to five runs, and capping the breakout rally. The surge assured that Cobb — who battled his way through 5-2/3 innings on three hits and two walks — was on the winning side of the ledger. The right-hander struck out seven.

Steve Cishek entered the game and threw a scoreless, and efficient, seventh inning on 11 pitches.

Then at the bottom of the inning, Morrison pushed the lead to 7-1 on an opposite field homer off John Curtiss.

It was Morrison’s 36th homer this year, and seventh in eight games.

With a sizable lead in tow, Andrew Kittredge took over in the eighth. Brian Dozier welcomed the hurler rather rudely with a two-run homer, however, Tampa Bay countered with four-runs in the bottom of the inning when Trevor Plouffe and Morrison each drove in runs on singles, while Longoria drove in a pair on a base hit to center.

Finally, Ryne Stanek allowed a run in the ninth inning, but struck out the side to end the game.

The New What Next

Jake Odorizzi (7-7, 4.85 ERA, 5.97 FIP) will take the mound in the second game of the series on Tuesday, pitching opposite of Bartolo Colon (4-2, 4.09 ERA, 5.08 FIP).

Odorizzi allowed three runs over five innings while notching a win against over KC in his last start. He, however, has struggled to pitch deeply into games as of late, tossing at least six innings in just one of his last six starts. On the bright side, all of the Royals’ runs came on one swing — a three-run homer by Whit Merrifield in the third inning. More concerning though, his the lack of command, paired with the inability to keep the ball in the park, has plagued Odorizzi this season. In his last 10 outings, the right-hander has given up 34 runs in 48 innings — good for a 6.38 ERA.

Colon gave up three runs over six innings in a no-decision against Chicago his last time out. He was solid over the month of August, performing to a 3.40 ERA over six starts, yet he wasn’t nearly as good over the first half of the season, performing to a 8.14 ERA/5.07 FIP over 63 innings of work. Colon is 9-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 24 career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (5-15, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 BB), Corey Dickerson (3-3, 3B, RBI), Lucas Duda (1-4), Adeiny Hechavarria (4-13, 3 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (5-14, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Mallex Smith (1-4)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 9/5/17 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Dickerson DH
Longoria 3B
Duda 1B
Souza RF
Miller 2B
Ramos C
Smith LF
Hechavarria SS
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays received good news on the status of Chris Archer, who was pulled from Saturday’s contest due to right lateral forearm tightness after throwing just eight pitches. Archer’s exam with team doctors showed no structural damage to his right arm. He will play catch tomorrow afternoon then be reevaluated afterward.

— Jason Collette (The Process Report) made a good point: One thing that stands out with Kiermaier since his return, he has done a good job working up the middle and the other way, while not pulling the ball as frequently.