Ji-Man Choi es en fuego. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After notching their fifth consecutive win last night, this time 7-1 over the Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays look for one last series win before the All-Star Break this afternoon.

At 52-36 on the season, Tampa Bay enters play 16-games over .500 and running 2.5 games behind the division-leading Red Sox, who also won last night. The Rays have now won 20 of the last 24 home games and are 7-4 against Toronto on the season.

Shane McClanahan got the start Friday night and battled his way through four innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks on 91 pitches (58 strikes, 64% strike rate). McClanahan struck out five. In a matchup of exciting young hurlers (Alek Manoah and McClanahan), Tampa Bay’s rookie lefty wasn’t as efficient as he could have been, however, he did strike out at least five batters for the fourth consecutive start. McClanahan lowered his ERA to 4.05 and his FIP to 3.81, with a 1.27 WHIP and a 3.38 K/BB through his first 60 big-league innings.

The Rays bullpen was stunningly good in relief of McClanahan, combining for five shutout innings while surrendering just one hit. Andrew Kittredge, who was credited with the win, Jeffrey Springs, and J.P. Feyereisen collected nine punchies. Tampa Bay’s relief corps has thrown 14 consecutive scoreless frames (extending back to Wednesday), while the Rays scored four runs against Toronto’s bullpen.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough (5-3, 4.34 ERA) will get the start Saturday afternoon, pitching opposite Ross Stripling (3-4, 4.06 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough allowed one earned run on four hits while recording five strikeouts over five innings on Sunday in Buffalo. The southpaw put together a second consecutive strong outing after a pair of rocky starts where he allowed a combined 12 earned runs over 8.1 innings against the White Sox and Red Sox. Yarbrough worked around a solo home run by Randal Grichuk and allowing only one other extra-base hit during his time on the mound. He now maintains a 4.24 ERA and a 4.25 FIP, with a 1.17 WHIP, and 5.00 K/BB across 91.1 innings on the season. He is 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA across 15 career appearances (seven starts) against the Blue Jays.

Ross Stripling allowed one run on two hits and three walks over 5.2 innings against Tampa Bay last Saturday. He struck out five. Stripling limited the Rays to a Manuel Margot home run before departing one out shy of a quality start. The veteran has turned his season around, rattling off a 2.35 ERA across his last eight starts while losing just once. Prior to his current run, Stripling was winless and owned an ugly 7.20 ERA and 1.76 WHIP through his first six turns. Yet, those marks now sit at 4.06 and a 4.47 FIP, with a 1.21 WHIP, and a 3.48 K/BB across 71.0 innings on the season. He is now 0-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two outings (one start) against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-2, 3 BB), Francisco Mejía (1-4, 2B, RBI, BB), Joey Wendle (2-4, 2B)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

Rays 7/10/21 Starting Lineup

  1. B. Lowe RF
  2. Díaz 3B
  3. Meadows DH
  4. Arozarena LF
  5. Choi 1B
  6. Walls SS
  7. Wendle 2B
  8. Zunino C
  9. Kiermaier CF
  10. Yarbrough LHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays will have a second player on the American League All-Star team, as versatile INF Joey Wendle will be named to the team on Saturday as a replacement for an injured or withdrawing player.

Wendle is hitting .275 with 21 doubles (seventh-most in the American League), a career-high-matching seven homers, 33 RBI, and a .790 OPS on the season.

He joins Mike Zunino, who had been elected on the player’s ballot, as well as Manager Kevin Cash and the Rays’ coaching staff, who will manage the AL team.

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