Rays look to bounce back from 2-0 loss Tuesday night

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After a 2-0 loss Monday night, snapping a six-game win streak, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back and add a tally to the win column tonight, at the Trop. The Rays were shutout for the first time since the All-Star Break and held only to singles for the third time this season.

In spite of the loss, Tampa Bay remains a half-game in front of Oakland for the final Wildcard spot and two back of Cleveland for the top Wildcard. Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Cleveland all fell yesterday.

The New What Next

Andrew Kittredge (1-0, 2.52 ERA) will open for the Rays to be followed by Ryan Yarbrough (10-3, 4.01 ERA). They’ll be opposed by Trent Thornton (4-7, 5.23 ERA).

Andrew Kittredge allowed an earned run against the Marlins across two innings (19 pitches, 13 strikes, 68% strike rate) on Sunday. The right-hander has opened three games this season including July 27th in Toronto, when he gave up two runs in three innings while striking out seven.

Ryan Yarbrough allowed four runs on six hits over 4-1/3 relief innings against the Red Sox on Wednesday. He struck out three. Yarbrough served up as many homers as he generated swinging strikes (two) over 75 pitches (51 strikes, 68% strike rate) — but the Rays offense picked him up, allowing Yarbrough to earn his fifth straight win. It was the first time the left-hander allowed more than one run in an outing since June 13. He is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA in three games (11 innings) against the Blue Jays this season.

Trent Thornton hurled six innings on Wednesday and allowed one run on five hits and no walks while striking out two. Thornton was coming off a 10-day stint on the IL with right elbow inflammation but limited Baltimore to six baserunners on five singles and a hit batsman while tossing 58 of 87 pitches for strikes (67% strike rate). He was successful despite missing few bats — he induced just six swinging strikes. The quality start came after a pair of rough post-All-Star Break outings in which the rookie surrendered nine earned runs across 4-1/3 combined frames. Thornton is now 4-7 with a 5.23 ERA and a 2.27 K/BB over 105 innings this season. He is 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA in two starts against Tampa Bay this season. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-4), Avisail Garcia (3-5, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB), Austin Meadows (4-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Tommy Pham (1-4, BB)

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

TNWN: Rays vs Blue Jays — a series preview, part four

Rays 8/6/19 Starting Lineup

1. Choi DH
2. d’Arnaud C
3. Meadows LF
4. Aguilar 1B
5. Sogard 2B
6. Garcia RF
7. Kiermaier CF
8. Duffy 3B
9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— Jose Alvarado will make the first of back-to-back appearances for the Triple-A Durham Bulls today. Pending the outcome of his outings, Alvarado could rejoin the team on the upcoming road trip.