After a 12-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
At 67-44 on the season, Tampa Bay enters play a season-high 23 games over .500 and with a three-game lead over Boston in the division.
Shane McClanahan got the start on Saturday and was impressive across seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight. The left-hander threw 62 of 92 pitches for strikes (67% strike rate) while coaxing 15 swinging strikes (16% SwStr%). McClanahan dominated the Orioles, with just a shaky, 30-pitch third accounting for the only troublesome frame.
McClanahan retired the first seven batters — striking out three of them — before Jorge Mateo sliced a first-pitch double to right, swiped third on the next pitch, then scored on Mike Zunino’s errant throw into left field, making it a one-run contest. Number nine hitter Richie Martin walked before Cedric Mullins hit a two-run homer to right-center on the very next pitch, putting Baltimore in the lead. Yet, McClanahan tightened things up after that and allowed just one base runner on an infield hit in the fifth. The trusty left-hander now maintains a 3.74 ERA and a 3.55 FIP on the season, with a 1.25 WHIP, and a 3.54 K/BB across 84.0 innings.
The Baltimore native finally got an opportunity to pitch in the city he called home as a child.
It was cool. I’m definitely going to call my mom and dad … to tell them how cool it was to pitch in this stadium where I fell in love with baseball, where I had the best memories of my life. I was a 4- or 5-year-old kid taking the train to watch the O’s play.
— Shane McClanahan
Tampa Bay took the initial lead in the second after Yandy Díaz homered to left off Spenser Watkins — the eighth home run since early June for Díaz. Joey Wendle followed with a base hit to left, then went to third on a ground-rule double to right-center by Manuel Margot. Wendle came around to score on Kevin Kiermaier’s RBI groundout to first, putting the Rays up by a pair.
Kiermaier eventually departed after the second inning due to right knee soreness, which he likely incurred on the first inning run-scoring play.
Down by a run in the fifth, the Rays took the lead back against Watkins. Lowe doubled to right-center with one out, before Nelson Cruz drilled a homer to deep centerfield — his second homer (and fourth extra-base hit) in as many days.
And Tampa Bay slowly began to pile it on the Orioles in the sixth, and it all began with a Baltimore miscue. Wendle reached on a one-out error by Richie Martin at short, then moved to second on a groundout. The infielder came home on a bad hop double to right by Brett Phillips, who replaced Kiermaier.
Tampa Bay has scored more runs from the seventh inning on than any other team in baseball, and they added to their lopsided run differential in the eighth. Dusten Knight surrendered a base hit to Wendle before Margot reached on a Mateo error on a potential double-play ball. After Phillips struck out, “Gator” Mike Zunino singled to left off César Valdez, consequently loading the bases. Lowe responded to the situation with an opposite-field grand slam off the foul pole for a commanding lead.
Wander Franco capped the scoring in the frame when he crushed a solo homer to right — his first from the left-handed side of the batter’s box, and fourth overall — putting the Rays up by seven.
They capped the scoring with two more runs in the ninth. Lowe drove home Tampa Bay’s 11th run of the night on a bases-loaded walk against Isaac Mattson, while a wild pitch scored the 12th run.
Dietrich Enns made his triumphant return to the big leagues — his first MLB appearance since 2017 — throwing a scoreless eighth, punctuated by a strikeout of Mullins, while Collin McHugh, who just returned from the IL, worked around a single and a walk for a scoreless ninth.
Wendle scored four runs while Lowe drove in five. The Rays enter play tied for fourth in baseball in runs averaged per game (5.05), trailing only Houston, Toronto, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are also are eighth in homers (144) after hitting four more last night.
The New What Next
The series finishes up on Sunday with Michael Wacha (2-3, 5.26 ERA) on the mound, pitching opposite of Jorge Lopez (3-12, 5.91 ERA).
Michael Wacha coughed up six runs on eight hits and three walks over four innings on Monday. He struck out three. The right-hander survived the first two innings despite some traffic on the basepaths, however, the wheels came off for Wacha in a five-run third. He threw 57 of 86 pitches for strikes (66% strike rate) before getting the hook, and he hasn’t lasted more than five innings in any of his four outings since the All-Star Break. Wacha maintains a 5.26 ERA and a 4.71 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, and 3.14 K/BB through 75.1 innings on the season. He is 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA in two starts (seven combined innings) against the Orioles.
Jorge Lopez allowed a run on one hit and five walks while striking out four in six innings on Monday. While the five walks were a season-high for the right-hander, he was mostly able to contain his inefficiency. Monday was just the fourth time in 22 starts Lopez completed six innings. He has a 5.91 ERA and a 4.98 FIP, with a 1.64 WHIP, and a 1.96 K/BB through 102 innings in what’s been another difficult season for the hurler. The Rays torched Lopez for five runs on eight hits and a walk across 4.2 innings. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (1-3, HR, 2 RBI), Ji-Man Choi (1-1, 2 BB), Nelson Cruz (3-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Kevin Kiermaier (4-7, 2B, RBI), Brandon Lowe (4-6, 2B, 2 RBI), Manuel Margot (2-4, RBI), Austin Meadows (1-3), Joey Wendle (3-8, 2 2B, RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 8/8/21 Starting Lineup
- Lowe 2B
- Choi 1B
- Cruz DH
- Meadows LF
- Franco SS
- Wendle 3B
- Margot RF
- Phillips CF
- Mejía C
- Wacha RHP
Noteworthiness
— Kiermaier is not starting today, although he also is not expected to go on the IL.
— Randy Arozarena remains on the COVID-19 IL due to close contact.