After winning the first two games of the series with Toronto, the Tampa Bay Rays seek a sweep of the three-game set this afternoon.
The Rays now are 16-7 in their last 23 home games, including the 7-5 victory against the Blue Jays last night. They need to win just one of the four remaining games against Toronto to win the season series.
Blake Snell posted six innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out seven. Snell, who threw 104 pitches (64 over the first three frames) retired his last 10 hitters — six by strikeout.
That doesn’t mean it was easy for the southpaw. Despite the low number of walks (relatively speaking, of course), he found himself in a good number of deep counts, while Toronto’s batters fouled off pitch after pitch, driving up Snell’s pitch count. Snell battled, however, and ultimately found his rhythm.
The New What Next
Chris Archer (8-17, 4.10 ERA) will get the start this afternoon, opposite of JA Happ (17-4, 3.23 ERA).
Archer allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over seven innings on Sunday, striking out 10 Astros along the way. The righty has surrendered three or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, allowing him to lower his ERA some 32 points, from 4.42 to 4.10. He also surpassed the 200 strikeout mark once again, and has a fair chance of punching out at least 250 in back-to-back seasons. Archer’s had success against the Blue Jays throughout his carer, allowing two runs or fewer in four consecutive starts against Toronto (dating back to 2017).
Happ has made four starts this year against Tampa Bay, posting quality starts in three of them. Happ last faced the Rays on August 10th, and threw six shutout innings in a 7-0 victory.
Rays 9/4/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Longoria 3B
Miller 1B
Duffy SS
Souza RF
Dickerson LF
Wilson C
Casali DH
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
— Logan Forsythe enters play today having reached base 16 times in his last 25 plate appearances. He’s also hitting .447 (21-47) against Toronto.
— The wins have dropped the Blue Jays into a first place tie with Boston atop the AL East.