After defeating the Cubs at Wrigley on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays will look for a series win tonight, as they wrap up the opening road trip of the season.
At 6-6 on the season, Tampa Bay has an opportunity to get back above .500 with a win.
Josh Fleming threw 3.1 innings out of the bullpen behind Matt Wisler on Tuesday and surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two batters against the Cubs. All of the damage against Fleming came in the bottom of the fourth after he gave up an RBI double to Frank Schwindel before Patrick Wisdom hammered his second long ball in as many days, narrowing Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-3. Fleming performed to a 5.09 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 104.1 frames last season, and he’s put together a similar 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over 10 innings to start 2022.
Wander Franco returned to the lineup last night and collected three hits including his first home run to go along with a single and a double. In 11 games, Franco boasts a 1.046 OPS and has 19 hits — the most in the American League.
The weather could be a factor tonight. There’s a good chance of rain as well as 20-mile-per-hour winds. Because of it, game time has been moved up by just over an hour to 6:30 ET.
The New What Next
Drew Rasmussen (0-1, 5.00 ERA) will get the start tonight, pitching opposite of Marcus Stroman (0-1, 6.00 ERA).
Drew Rasmussen allowed three runs on five hits over five innings on Friday, while striking out two against the White Sox. The first run to score against Rasmussen came in the second inning when he fired a wild pitch. Then, he gave up a solo shot to Jake Burger in the third, followed by an RBI single in the fifth. Rasmussen, who was not the recipient of solid defense behind him, tossed 47 of 68 pitches for strikes (69% strike rate), including nine whiffs.
Marcus Stroman allowed five runs on six hits across four innings on Friday against the Rockies. He walked one and struck out four. Stroman struggled to find his footing at Coors Field, although he looked good through the first three innings. But, the Rockies tallied five runs on four hits and a walk in the fourth. The big blow was a three-run shot by Alan Trejo. The tough outing pushed Stroman’s season ERA to 6.00. Over his career, the former AL East stalwart is 5-7 with a 4.57 ERA in 15 starts against the Rays. Stroman relies primarily on his 92 mph sinker with heavy sinking action and an 85 mph slider that has some two-plane movement, while also mixing in an 86 mph changeup that dives down out of the zone and a 91 mph cutter with heavy sink. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (3-10), Kevin Kiermaier (9-33, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB), Brandon Lowe (2-7, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Manuel Margot (2-5, HR, 2 RBI), Brett Phillips (1-2), Mike Zunino (1-3, HR, 2 RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, and the starting lineup is below.
Rays 4/20/22 Starting Lineup
- B. Lowe 2B
- Franco SS
- Arozarena DH
- Choi 1B
- J. Lowe LF
- Mejia C
- Kiermaier CF
- Walls 3B
- Phillips RF