After defeating the Oakland Athletics on Monday, 6-1, the Tampa Bay Rays look to get back to a season-high matching four games above .500 with a win tonight.
At 13-10 on the season, the Rays enter play three games above .500, and 4-3 over their current 16-game stretch without an off-day.
Drew Rasmussen got the start against Oakland on Monday and tossed five innings, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out three. Rasmussen induced only six swinging strikes, and the Athletics wore him down with 22 foul balls. Even so, he yielded just a single and a walk and hung around just long enough to pick up his second consecutive win. He hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any appearance this season, helping him register a solid 3.13 ERA and 3.17 FIP, with a 0.87 WHIP and a 4.22 K/BB through five starts.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay struck early and often Monday, and it all started with a leadoff solo home run by Yandy Diaz — his second homer of the season.
All told, the Rays scored six runs on 11 hits and two errors, including a pair of hits by Wander Franco, who also scored and drove in a run. Manuel Margot also bolstered Tampa Bay’s offense by collecting three of the 11 hits against Athletics starter Daulton Jefferies. Margot doubled and scored in the fourth and doubled home a run in the sixth as part of his effort.
The New What Next
Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 0.00 ERA) has been activated from the Injured List and will make his first appearance of the regular season tonight. He’ll Pitch opposite of Paul Blackburn (3-0, 1.35 ERA).
Ryan Yarbrough started the season on the active roster, but he was placed on the 10-day Injured List with groin tightness. The left-hander made two rehab starts with Durham, and has been stretched out to 60 pitches. He, however, has not pitched more than four frames since Spring Training.
Yarbrough had a great Spring thanks to good health and a couple of extra miles per hour of fastball velocity. Some things to remember about Yarbrough: he forces weak contact at an elite rate — averaging 84.8 mph exit velocity off the bat, and boasting the lowest HardHit% at 26.9% — and doesn’t walk a lot of batters; he is in the 91st percentile in BB% at 5.2%. He also has an all but secret curveball that pairs well with his changeup since both pitches mirror one another. Among pitchers that threw at least 200 curveballs last season, his hammer had a HardHit% of 16%, earning him a spot in the 98th percentile.
Paul Blackburn tossed five scoreless innings on Wednesday against the Giants during which he allowed three hits and a walk while striking out four. The left-hander’s surprising season continued with his third win in four turns despite receiving little-to-no offensive support. Blackburn coaxed 12 swinging strikes and allowed just one extra-base hit while finishing with his second scoreless outing of 2022. Of note, Blackburn has gone exactly five innings in each of his four outings this season. The 28-year-old entered the campaign with a career 6-11 record and 5.74 ERA, yet he currently manages a 1.35 ERA and 1.55 FIP, with a 0.80 WHIP and 9.00 K/BB through 20 innings. He gave up three hits and a walk while striking out seven Rays on April 11. Key Matchups: Wander Franco (1-2), Brandon Lowe (1-3)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 5/3/22 Starting Lineup
- Diaz 1B
- Franco SS
- Arozarena LF
- B. Lowe 2B
- Margot DH
- Kiermaier CF
- Walls 3B
- Phillips RF
- Pinto C
Noteworthiness
— Phoenix Sanders was slated to throw more than an inning last night but was dealing with back tightness. Sanders has been placed on the 15-day Injured List with lower back spasms. Of note, the IL is now 15 days for pitchers moving forward, but still 10 days for position players.