After coming from behind to defeat Le Tigre on Friday, 5-3, the Tampa Bay Rays look to win their four-game set this afternoon.

At 57-49 on the season, Tampa Bay enters play eight games above .500, having won three straight overall. They now sit two games behind Toronto for the top AL Wildcard spot after the Blue Jays dropped an extra-inning contest against Minnesota last night.

Corey Kluber allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings on Friday against Detroit. He struck out five and threw 84 pitches (65 strikes, 77% strike rate). All three runs that scored on Kluber came in the first two frames, including Riley Greene’s two-run second-inning homer. Even so, Kluber went on to retire 13 of the final 14 batters he faced and kept the Rays in the contest which allowed them to come from behind later in the game. Kluber gave up three runs or fewer for the first time since July 12 after coughing up 12 combined runs over the previous three starts. He now owns a 4.05 ERA and a 3.82 FIP through 21 starts, with a 6.19 K/BB, and a 1.15 WHIP.

Meanwhile, the offense was able to take advantage of a franchise record 13 walks thanks, in part, to Brandon Lowe’s two-RBI eighth-inning double into the right-field corner, which allowed Tampa Bay to take a lead they’d never relinquish.

The New What Next

Shane McClanahan (10-4, 2.07 ERA) will get the start Saturday, pitching opposite Garrett Hill (1-3, 5.88 ERA).

Shane McClanahan allowed five runs on seven hits, three walks, and a hit batsman while striking out four in 4.1 innings, on Sunday versus the Guardians. McClanahan’s five runs allowed were a season-high, and he matched his season low for innings pitched. Cleveland built rallies against the southpaw in the second and fifth innings, with a two-run Austin Hedges single in the fifth off reliever Ryan Thompson adding the final damage to his line. The good news is this has been a rarity for McClanahan — he’s given up three or more runs only four times in 20 turns, and he’d rattled off 13 quality starts in a row entering Sunday’s contest. He owns a 2.07 ERA and 2.63 FIP, with a 0.83 WHIP, and a 6.87 K/BB across 122 innings. The left-hander limited the Tigers to one run on four hits (including a solo homer) across seven innings in his last start against the Tigers.

Garrett Hill allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one in five innings against Toronto. Hill allowed a two-out, two-run homer to Matt Chapman in the second inning and run-scoring doubles to Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette in the fifth. He was able to coax two double-play groundballs to limit the damage. Hill made five starts for the Tigers in July despite bouncing back-and-forth between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo for roster reasons. Overall, he owns a 5.88 ERA and 5.65 FIP, with a 1.35 WHIP, and a 1.00 K/BB across 26.0 innings. Hill relies primarily on a 92 mph four-seam fastball that has slight arm-side run, while also mixing in an 83 mph slider, an 82 mph changeup that has some natural sink to it, a 77 mph curveball that has a sharp downward bite, and a 91 mph sinker.

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

TNWN: Rays vs Tigers — a series preview, part deux

Rays 8/6/22 Starting Lineup

  1. Lowe 2B
  2. Choi DH
  3. Paredes 1B
  4. Peralta LF
  5. Siri CF
  6. Raley RF
  7. Bethancourt C
  8. Walls SS
  9. Chang 3B

Noteworthiness

— Mired in an 0-15 stretch (albeit an unlucky one), Yandy Díaz is getting the day off today, as is Randy Arozarena, who was slated for a day off last night.

— Nick Anderson threw a scoreless inning for Durham on Friday in another rehab outing.