Dick Mountain, y’all. (Photo Credit: TampaBay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays look to get back on the winning side of the ledger Wednesday night after watching their five-game win streak come to pass on yesterday in New York. At 35-21 on the season, Tampa Bay still has the best record in Major League Baseball, and a two-game lead over Boston in the American League East.

Despite the loss, the Rays have still won 16 of 18 contests. Be that as it may, they were limited to just three hits last night, and none after Kevin Kiermaier hit a game-tying homer in the fifth inning. Even so, the Yankees weren’t much better, collecting just six total hits and just an infield base hit over the final four frames before Clint Frazier walked it off in extras.

In other news, Rays’ left-hander Rich Hill has been named the AL Pitcher of the Month.

The 41-year-old made six starts in May, posting a 0.78 ERA across 34-2/3 innings, striking out 36 while walking 12 (3.00 K/BB), and holding opponents to a minuscule .145 batting average. He set a career-high for strikeouts on May 25 against the Royals, when he fanned 13 batters (and coaxed 27 whiffs) over eight frames.

This is Hill’s third Pitcher of the Month Award; he also won in May 2016 with Oakland and July 2017 with Los Angeles. He is the first Ray to take home the award since Tampa Bay took home three consecutive titles: Blake Snell in August and September 2018, and Tyler Glasnow in April 2019.

The New What Next

Shane McClanahan (2-0, 3.29 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay tonight in the third game of a four-game set, pitching opposite of fellow southpaw Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 4.22 ERA).

Shane McClanahan allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six across five scoreless innings on Thursday against the Royals. McClanahan needed just 63 pitches (12.6 pitchers per innings) to record 15 outs, and he’s now completed at least five innings in three consecutive starts. McClanahan was also extremely deceptive, racking up 16 whiffs to back up his six punchouts. McClanahan has gotten off to a strong start to his big-league career, boasting a 3.29 ERA with a 4.57 K/BB across 27-1/3 innings. He has yet to face the Yankees.

Jordan Montgomery allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out a batter across 4-2/3 innings in a doubleheader against the Blue Jays on Thursday. Montgomery recently flashed his upside with an 11-strikeout gem against the White Sox, yet he’s also had a few letdowns this season. He enters the series with a 4.22 ERA and 1.11 WHIP on the season. Montgomery is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts against Tampa Bay this season. Key Matchups: Mike Brosseau (2-7, HR, 2 RBI), Manuel Margot (4-9, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Austin Meadows (2-8), Francisco Mejía (1-2, HR, RBI), Mike Zunino (2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

Rays 6/2/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Arozarena DH
  2. Diaz 1B
  3. Meadows LF
  4. Brosseau 2B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Mejia C
  7. Wendle 3B
  8. Walls SS
  9. Phillips CF
  10. McClanahan LHP

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