Coming off a disappointing series sweep at the hands of the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays returned home ahead of their season capping, six-game home stand. They’ll welcome the Miami Marlins into Tropicana Field for a three-game interleague series, starting Tuesday.
The Miami Marlins have made the best out of this season’s final few weeks, while the Tampa Bay Rays have not. The Marlins, who are 17-8 since August 31, have rattled off a string of five straight victories ― including a three-game sweep of Atlanta over the weekend.
In that series, Marlins’ slugger Justin Bour went 7-12 with four homers and eight RBI, and boasts five blasts in the last five games. Meanwhile, Kevin Kiermaier is finishing the season strong for Tampa Bay, going 9-23 with two homers (both off LHP) and four RBI the last six games.
Rays skipper Kevin Cash will throw Matt Moore, Drew Smyly, and Erasmo Ramirez over the next three days. Moore (2-4, 6.48) has turned the corner over the last two starts after struggling in his first eight since returning from Tommy John surgery. The lefty allowed two runs on nine hits over 13-2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts and two walks in the past two starts combined. Moore is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts against the Marlins (both in 2012). Smyly (4-2, 3.26 ERA) held Boston scoreless on five hits and three walks, while fanning seven, on Wednesday en route to his fourth win of the season. Ramirez (11-6, 3.65 ERA) put together another gem on Thursday, giving up just two runs and retiring 18 of 20 batters faced. Erasmo has now thrown at least seven innings in three straight starts for the first time at the MLB level. He enters the with an 11-6 record and a 3.65 ERA/3.82 FIP/2.2 WAR line.
The Rays are 11-6 in interleague play this season (5-2 at home) and will finish .500 or better in five straight seasons against NL ball clubs.
Adam Conley (4-1, 3.93 ERA) is unbeaten in his last five starts with three victories. He has allowed three or fewer runs in six consecutive outings, with a 2.70 ERA in that span. The 25 year-old lefty yielded just one run and six hits across 13 frames, with 14 strikeouts and one walk in his last two starts. Conley relies primarily on a 92 mph four seam fastball and an 84 mph change-up, while also mixing in an 85 mph slider and a rare 92 mph sinker.
Jarred Cosart (2-4, 4.15 ERA) exited Thursday’s game against the Phillies in the fifth inning with a left forearm contusion and was listed day-to-day. A forearm contusion shouldn’t cost Cosart too much time, and the righty is expected to make his start against the Rays on Wednesday. Cosart is 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA in four starts against Tampa Bay, including a six inning outing on April 11 where he allowed one run on three hits in a 2-0 loss. Key matchups: Asdrubal Cabrera (3-8, 2 3B, 2 RBI, BB), Nick Franklin (2-6, 2 BB), Brandon Guyer (2-3), Kevin Kiermaier (3-10, 3 2B, BB)
Jose Fernandez (6-0, 2.91 ERA) relinquished six runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two in a win over Atlanta on Friday. It was Fernandez’s worst start of the season, inflating his ERA from 2.18 to 2.91. Still, the righty continues to boast an elite 10.74 K/9 rate to go along with a 1.09 WHIP. Key matchup: Asdrubal Cabrera (1-3, 2B)
Noteworthiness
― Steven Souza Jr. is 7-18 with a homer and three RBI in his last four games.
― Martin Prado is 10-26 with two homers and nine RBI over his last seven contests.
― The Rays are 2-1 this season against Miami.
― If there’s any consolation, Tampa Bay’s Pythagorean expectation is 77-79, i.e. the team is underperforming and they are better than their actual W/L record suggests.