After an 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays look for their second consecutive sweep this afternoon as they continue their terrific West Coast road trip.
At 18-10 on the season, the Rays enter play a season-high eight games over .500. They are also 9-3 over a stretch of 16 consecutive games without an off-day.
Drew Rasmussen allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings on Saturday against the Mariners. Rasmussen primarily relied on groundballs to keep the Mariners’ offense in check. The right-hander escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third inning, while his lone blemish came in the fifth inning when he allowed a leadoff triple to Julio Rodriguez, who came around to score on an Adam Frazier RBI base hit. Rasmussen has suppressed runs effectively for most of the season, and he’s worked at least five innings in each of his last three turns — earning a win on each occasion. He maintains an impressive 2.89 ERA and 3.01 FIP, with a 0.96 WHIP and a 3.71 K/BB across 28 innings on the season.
Meanwhile, up on the Mariners 3-1 late in the game, Tampa Bay blew the game open in the eighth against former teammate Diego Castillo. Wander Franco singled to center, his third hit of the night, and Harold Ramirez looped a base hit to left. After a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position before Randy Arozarena hit a grounder to short, allowing Franco to score with a terrific headfirst slide. Brandon Lowe walked to load the bases before Manuel Margot drilled an 0-0 95 mph fastball for his first-ever grand slam to left for an 8-1 lead. It was Margot’s second homer in as many days and second of the season.
Lowe also hit two solo home runs on Saturday. Don’t look now, but the infielder has quietly put up a 283 wRC+ over the last seven days on the back of a .368 BA/.520 OBP/.789 SLG/1.309 OPS/.552 wOBA slash line with four extra-base hits (two homers, two doubles), four walks, three RBI, and six runs scored.
After scoring eight runs in each of the last two contests, Tampa Bay is eighth in all of baseball in runs scored per game (4.61) and fourth in the American League. Tampa Bay has activated Ji-Man Choi (loose bodies right elbow), who rejoined the team yesterday, from the 10-day Injured List. The team has optioned INF Isaac Paredes to Durham to make room for Choi.
The Rays have leaned on the bullpen a great deal, which is likely why Ryan Yarbrough will start this afternoon instead of having an opener in front of him. Additionally, Jeffrey Springs is moving into the rotation on Monday, removing another reliever from the mix. To make up for the loss, the Rays have recalled RHP Ralph Garza Jr. from Durham. In so doing, they have optioned LHP Josh Fleming to Triple-A Durham.
The New What Next
Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 19.29 ERA) will get the start in the series finale, pitching opposite of George Kirby (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
Ryan Yarbrough allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 2.1 innings on Tuesday against the Athletics. Yarbrough got off to a rough start in his season debut by permitting six baserunners and all five runs in the first. He didn’t get much better thereafter, surrendering two baserunners in the second and third, though none came around to score. Over his career, Yarbrough is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one start against the Mariners.
George Kirby, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, will make his big-league debut for Seattle. The hard-throwing right-hander is being promoted from Double-A, where he was 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts. Kirby hasn’t thrown more than five innings in a start yet this season and has thrown just 115 innings in his professional career. He leans primarily on a 94 mph fastball that touches triple digits, a low-80’s 11-5 curveball which he uses primarily against left-handed hitters, a mid-80’s slider with sharp bite which is especially dangerous against right-handed hitters, and a changeup that mimics fastball arm speed and action and shows flashes of plus sink and depth.
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 5/8/2022 Starting Lineup
- B. Lowe 2B
- Franco SS
- Arozarena LF
- Choi 1B
- Ramirez DH
- Mejia C
- Margot RF
- Phillips CF
- Walls 3B
Noteworthiness
— Jeffrey Springs will start or work behind an opener Monday against the Angels in Anaheim. Putting him in rotation then allows Tampa Bay to give Corey Kluber and Shane McClanahan an extra day’s rest before their starts, pushing them back to Tuesday and Wednesday.
Springs earned the promotion due to his exceptional work out of the bullpen and in increasingly extended appearances; he threw a season-high 43 pitches on April 28 and a seasonlong 3.1 innings on Tuesday.
In nine games (13 innings), the left-hander has allowed one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out 14 and has been equally effective against left-handed and right-handed hitters. All told, Springs is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA and 1.62 FIP, with a 0.77 WHIP and 4.67 K/BB on the season.
— The other Shane, RHP Shane Baz (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is set to throw live batting practice Monday and could soon start a minor-league rehab assignment, with a target of rejoining the big-league squad on June 6, when he is eligible to come off the 60-Day Injured List.