The Tampa Bay Rays look to salvage the series finale with the Yankees after dropping the first two games of the three-game set. They continue to have a difficult time at home, where they’ve gone 7-12.
Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has more than done its job, allowing just four runs (three earned) in the first two games of this series. Yet, they scored just one run on Mike Zunino’s massive homer on Tuesday. The Rays are hitting just .201 at the Trop and are hitless with runners in scoring position during the series (0-9 wRISP).
It was initially thought that Ji-Man Choi (meniscus surgery) would be able to help, but alas he has not yet been activated from the Injured List. Choi had some soreness Monday while playing for Durham.
The New What Next
Rich Hill (1-1, 5.17 ERA) will get the start in the series finale, pitching opposite of Jameson Taillon (1-2, 5.02 ERA).
Rich Hill got off to an inauspicious start in his last outing, gifting Oakland’s leadoff batters a free base in each of the first three frames — either by way of a walk or hit-by-pitch. Because of it, Hill worked almost exclusively out of the stretch in those early innings. Yet, the left-hander got into a groove and allowed just one batter to reach base across his final three innings, ending his outing by retiring seven in a row. All told, the left-hander allowed two singles and two walks while striking out four. After performing to an unsightly 8.82 ERA through his first four turns, Hill has allowed only two earned runs across 15 innings (three appearances). He enters his next start with a 5.17 ERA/4.36 FIP and a 3.20 K/BB on the season.
Jameson Taillon allowed three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out five across 6-1/3 innings on Friday against the Nationals. Taillon surrendered all three runs on a pair of homers in the top of the second inning. The right-hander now has a 5.02 ERA and 5.67 K/BB in 28-2/3 innings across his first six starts of the season. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career start against Tampa Bay. Taillon relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball, an 88 mph slider, and an 81 mph curveball. Key Matchup: Brett Phillips (1-4, 2B, RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 5/13/21 Starting Lineup
- Arozarena LF
- Meadows DH
- Margot RF
- Lowe 2B
- Díaz 1B
- Wendle SS
- Smith C
- Phillips CF
- Brosseau 3B
- Hill LHP