Less of this tonight would be preferable. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a 3-0 loss against Cleveland on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back tonight with their ace on the mound. Tampa Bay starts the day 4-2 in a stretch of three consecutive series against first-place teams, and nine games back in the AL Wildcard race thanks to losses by the Rays and Mariners.

Tyler Glasnow was excellent last night, throwing seven innings of one-run ball while allowing two hits (including a homer) and one walk on an efficient 76 pitches (56 strikes, 74% strike rate, 19/24 first-pitch strikes). He struck out six.

Glasnow pounded the top of the zone with his upper 90’s four-seam fastball before working over the edges of the plate. Then, he would drop in a low-80s curveball, with 7-to-8 inches of depth, over the heart of the plate, resulting in a good number of taken strikes. On occasion he would drop in a mid-80s slider, that fell right off the table and onto home plate, resulting in a 16.7% SwStr rate. The depth he got on his offspeed stuff was unreal, thanks in part to his release point which mimicked that of his four-seamer.

It was an impressive outing against one of the best hurlers in baseball, perinneal Cy Young Award candidate Corey Kluber. In short, Glasnow gave a glimpse of what to expect of him in both the present and future tenses: a dominant starter that can shut down a potent lineup.

Today marks the September roster expansion date. Tampa Bay is expected to slowly add to the active roster with Vidal Nuno (hamstring strain) activated from the 10-day disabled list. The Rays also added right-hander Jamie Schultz from Triple-A Durham. More players, like Austin Meadows and Christian Arroyo, should be added when the Bulls postseason run comes to a close.

Yesterday Cleveland traded for Josh Donaldson, who could immediately join the team or play in some minor league rehab games. Donaldson has not played in a big league game since May due to shoulder and calf injuries.

The New What Next

Blake Snell (16-5, 2.05 ERA) will get the start tonight for the Rays, pitching opposite of Shane “I’m not Justin” Bieber (8-2, 4.52 ERA).

Blake Snell allowed one run on two hits and two walks while fanning eight across six innings against Boston on Sunday. The southpaw tossed a gem against a tough Red Sox lineup, giving up just one run in the sixth inning as the Rays cruised to a 9-1 win. Since returning from the DL on August 4, Snell has gone 4-0 while allowing three runs and piling up 34 punch-outs across 26 innings (five starts). He owns a sparkling 2.05 ERA with a 3.17 K/BB through 145 frames this season.

Shane Bieber allowed four runs on six hits with no walks across 5-1/3 innings on Sunday against the Royals. He struck out seven. All the major damage against Bieber came via the long ball, including a pair of solo homers in the first and fourth innings before a two-run shot in the sixth. Luckily, he was spotted a large early lead and escaped with his eighth victory in spite of a lackluster overall line. Bieber has now posted an impressive 8.5 K/BB in 16 innings over his last three starts, although he also has a 5.63 ERA during that span, thanks in part to four homers allowed. This season he has relied primarily on his 93 mph four-seam fastball with some arm side run and an 84 mph 12/6 slider with two-plane movement, while also mixing in an 80 mph curveball with sharp downward bite. Cleveland is 10-4 in his 14 outings.

Rays 9/1/18 Starting Lineup

Wendle 2B
Duffy 3B
Choi DH
Pham LF
Kiermaier CF
Adames SS
Bauers 1B
Sucre C
Lowe RF
Snell LHP

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs. Cleveland — a series preview

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