You know it’s bad when one of your most productive hitters over the last month went 0-4 last night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After falling to the Yankees by a 4-1 margin last night, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back tonight and even the series at one game apiece. Tampa Bay will also try to stay above .500 with a win.

The Rays have been limited to just one run in each of the past two contests. If not for Willy Adames, who hit an eighth inning solo home run off of Dellin Betances, Tampa Bay would have had just one hit in the series opener.

On the bright side, Adames now has eight hits in the past four games.

The New What Next

Contrary to what I previously wrote in the series preview, Jake Faria (4-3, 4.97 ERA) will get the start for the Rays Wednesday night, pitching opposite of Luis Cessa (1-2, 4.50 ERA).

Faria’s first 10 appearances of the season came as a starter before the team elected to ease him into a long relief role when he returned from a two-month stint on the disabled list with an oblique injury early in August. The right-hander worked three scoreless frames out of the ‘pen in his most recent outing (August 10 vs. Toronto) which appears to have been enough to convince Kevin Cash he was ready for another look in the starting rotation. Faria will likely be on a restricted pitch count.

Cessa will be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rather than turning to the struggling Sonny Gray to start in place of the injured CC Sabathia (knee). In his prior three starts with the Yankees this season, Cessa has gone 1-2 and has allowed five runs on 12 hits and five walks over 14-1/3 innings. Cessa has faced Tampa Bay twice this season, and as a starter he allowed two runs in 5-1/3 innings on July 25th. Overall, he is 0-3 with a 4.30 ERA in seven appearances (three starts) against the Rays. The right-hander last pitched in the big leagues on August 2nd, when he gave up five runs over 3-2/3 innings against Boston.

Rays 8/15/18 Starting Lineup

Smith RF
Duffy 3B
Bauers 1B
Wendle 2B
Choi DH
Kiermaier CF
Adames SS
Lowe LF
Perez C
Faria RHP

You can read about the series, including an apparently hella inaccurate list of the pitching probables, in our series preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Yankees — yet another series preview

Noteworthiness

— Tommy Pham will begin a rehab assignment with the Hudson Valley Renegades, in nearby Staten Island, while the Rays face the Yankees in the Bronx. Pham traveled with the team and could be activated ahead of the upcoming series with the Red Sox.

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