After two consecutive losses at the hands of the Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays have one last shot at a winning homestand, and splitting the series with Texas, on Thursday. Tampa Bay is now 3-3 during the opening homestand. As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) noted, of the 15 teams in the American League, 14 are now anywhere from two games under .500 to two games over .500.
The Rays’ offense has been spotty at best in the first three games of the set, although Brandon Lowe’s ninth inning home run last night staved off the team’s first shutout of the ’21 campaign. It also ended a 47 at-bat homerless streak for Lowe dating back to last season — a career high for the slugger.
Overall, however, Tampa Bay is just 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position during this series (.111) and has driven in just one wRISP run. What’s more, they have allowed 68 runs across the first 12 games of the season (5.67 runs per game) — the most Rays have allowed during that stretch since 2007.
Can they get off the schneid tonight?
The New What Next
Rich Hill (1-0, 7.20 ERA) will get the start for the Rays, pitching opposite of Jordan Lyles (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
Rich Hill took the mound on Friday with a monkey on his back after he allowed four runs in his four-inning Rays’ debut. The veteran lefty retired his first eight batters before Tyler Wade sparked a two-out rally in the third inning, reaching on an infield hit near second base. D.J. LeMahieu followed with a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in center field, putting runners at second and third, before Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI single against the shift, plating a pair of runs and tying the game at two. Aaron Hicks capped the four-run rally with a two-run homer.
Yet, Hill settled down and settled in, retiring the final 10 batters he faced in order and collecting two of his seven strikeouts in a 10-pitch inning that followed New York’s uprising. Hill ended up throwing six efficient innings and tossed 61 of 83 pitches for strikes (73% strike rate, 13.8 pitches per inning) without walking a batter. Hill is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three career outings (one start) against the Rangers.
Jordan Lyles allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one across 4-1/3 innings on Saturday against the Padres. Lyles got through the first three innings cleanly before giving up a pair of home runs to Eric Hosmer and Ha-Seong Kim. The 30-year-old is coming off a poor start and boasts a 7.02 ERA and 1.56 WHIP thus far. Lyles is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA in two career outings (one start) against the Rays. He relies primarily on a 93 mph four-seam fastball and an 80 mph knuckle curveball, while also mixing in an 86 mph slider and an 87 mph changeup. Key Matchups: Austin Meadows (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Mike Zunino (2-6)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 4/15/21 Starting Lineup
- Meadows DH
- Arozarena RF
- Lowe 2B
- Diaz 1B
- Wendle SS
- Margot LF
- Brosseau 3B
- Mejia C
- Phillips CF
- Hill LHP
Noteworthiness
— Mike Brosseau will make his first start of the series, hitting seventh at third base. Meanwhile, Yandy Diaz and Austin Meadows will get the start at first and DH, respectively, meaning Yoshi Tsutsugo is out of the lineup.
— Since it’s Jackie Robinson Day, players and coaches across the league will wear number 42 to honor his legacy.