The win was just the fifth in 16 games against the Orioles, who who enter the day two games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, and tied with the Blue Jays for the top Wild-Card berth.
Evan Longoria tied his career high with five RBI in last night’s 7-6 win. He also tied his career high with his 33rd homer of the season. Longoria now has 91 RBI, needing just nine RBI to reach 100 for the third time in his career (first time since 2010). However, amidst the good news, the Rays suffered an injury last night when Nick Franklin incurred a left hamstring strain while turning a double lay; he is listed as day-to-day.
The New What Next
Chris Archer (8-18, 4.05 ERA) will get the start for the Rays, opposite of Ubaldo Jimenez (7-11, 5.98 ERA).
Archer surrendered three earned runs on four hits and a walk over seven innings Saturday afternoon. He struck out six. The righty was a tough-luck loser, putting together an efficient outing yet still ending the day with a loss. 72 of his 102 pitches went for strikes, while he notched 23 of the 27 first pitch strikes. He also coaxed 12 swinging strikes and now has tallied six strikeouts or more in 11 consecutive starts, including three consecutive quality starts. He has faced Baltimore three times this season, allowing 10 runs in 19 innings.
Jimenez surrendered two runs over seven innings against the Tigers on Saturday. Even though he hasn’t been the most consistent starter, Jimenez has delivered four quality starts in a row while winning each of his last two starts — including a 9 IP/2 H/3 R/1 HR/1 BB/6 K start against Tampa Bay on September 5th. The righty has lowered his ERA by almost a run along the way.
You can read more about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 9/16/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Longoria 3B
Miller LF
Dickerson DH
Souza Jr. RF
Shaffer 1B
Ramirez SS
Wilson C
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
— With Nick Franklin hurt, the Rays have promoted OF Jaff Decker to add a left-handed bat to bench. Logan Morrison has been placed on the 60-day DL to make room for Decker on the 40-man roster.
— Speaking of LoMo, word broke that he will undergo surgery to repair a torn left wrist sheath. Though disheartening, Morrison caught a break, as the extent of the tear is relatively minimal, meaning that the slugger can begin baseball activities in about 12 weeks and should be ready to go for Spring Training.
The news will undoubtedly impact Morrison’s market, as the injury is reasonably significant surgery. Former Ray Sam Fuld missed several months of the season after suffering a similar injury — also requiring surgery — toward the beginning of the 2012 season.
After an underwhelming start to the season for Morrison, the 1B/DH put up a .275 BA/.350 OBP/.498 SLG/.848 OPS slash line over 303 plate appearances since, while knocking in 14 homers and driving in 43 RBI.
Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), Rays skipper Kevin Cash said Morrison has not made the decision to undergo the procedure, and will get a second opinion on Monday.