The Mets did the Rays no favors this past weekend, losing all three of their games to their cross town rivals, the Yankees. And here to think that the Rays kept the Marlins at bay in their past series, yet the Mets can’t repay the favor. In any case, Tampa Bay looks to pay the Mets a debt of appreciation tonight, the first game of a three game set. Tampa Bay took two of three from the Mets in the teams’ last series in 2009. Historically, the Rays have won five of the last seven meetings overall, and they’ll look to continue that trend.
The Rays recent offensive surge has helped them bust out of a slump that’s been plaguing the team since May. They’ve outscored their opponents 29-10 during their four-game winning streak, ending their most recent road trip with a 4-2 record after losing the first two games to the Yankees. Conversely, The Mets have dropped six of seven.
Alex Cobb (2-2, 4.13 ERA) will take the mound against Chris Young (0-0, 3.60 ERA). Cobb is coming off a good 7.0 IP/4 ER/4 K/5 H start against the Yankees. The loss in that game had more to do with the Rays inability to score runs, than it did a poor pitching performance on Cobbs part. Young will be making his second start following capsule surgery on his right shoulder last April. He posted a 5.0 IP/2 ER/2 K/6 H line in Tuesday’s 7-6 12 inning loss to Washington. The Rays have not seen Young since he pitched for the Rangers in 2005. But three current Rays have a history against Young: Hideki Matsui, Jose Molina, and Carlos Pena. They’ve hit a combined .300 BA in 10 at bats.
What can the Rays expect from Young? He’s primarily a fastball/slider pitcher that will lean on his changeup and curveball. He does tend to leave his pitches up in the zone, and Young tends to get beat when he does.
Surprisingly, Luke Scott won’t be in the lineup again tonight. Better judgment leads me to believe that his absence is due to Matsui going 3-5 against Young. However, you never know. Zobrist is also missing from tonight’s lineup following a ball he took to the hand during the weekend series at Miami. X-rays were taken and came back negative. Zobrist will hopefully be available off of the bench.
Rays Starting Lineup:
Jennings LF
Pena 1B
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Matsui DH
Rhymes 3B
Molina C
Johnson SS
Rodriguez 2B
Cobb RHP
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