After dropping three straight, the Tampa Bay Rays look to salvage the series finale with Boston, and get back on the winning side of the ledger. All three of the Rays’ last three losses have come by three runs or fewer, after getting back to the .500 mark on the last road trip.
The Rays will have Wilson Ramos back in the lineup tonight after he missed a game with a bruised left hand. Meanwhile, SS Willy Adames is back in the lineup for the final time before being sent back to Triple-A Durham, as Joey Wendle is set to return from paternity leave on Friday.
Tampa Bay is 3-9 against Boston this season, and all but one of those defeats have come by three runs or fewer. The Rays are 19-16 against teams other than the Red Sox.
The New What Next
Blake Snell (5-3, 3.07 ERA) will start for the Rays tonight, pitching opposite of Rick Porcello (6-1, 3.39 ERA).
Blake Snell didn’t put together a perfect inning until the sixth, yet he made big pitches when he needed to, holding the Angels scoreless until the fifth when Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run, two-strike single to center with one out — cutting the lead to four runs. Still, the southpaw stranded leadoff doubles in the second and third innings, and held Los Angeles to 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
After the Simmons single, Snell retired his next seven batters, collecting three punch outs along the way. He scattered four hits and two runs over 6-2/3 innings, walking three and fanning eight. Snell threw 70 of 114 pitches for strikes (61% strike rate).
Rick Porcello allowed three runs over 7-2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on April 29th, and won his last start against Baltimore, giving up three runs in six innings. Overall, Porcello is 14-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 26 starts against the Rays, and 8-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 14 starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (3-11, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (5-16), Brad Miller (13-46, 6 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Daniel Robertson (1-3), Denard Span (17-46, HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB)
You can read about the series in our preview.
The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview, part four
Rays 5/24/18 Starting Lineup
Span LF
Cron DH
Duffy 3B
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Robertson 2B
Smith CF
Field RF
Adames SS
Snell LHP
Noteworthiness
— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Rays may have some clarity on their pitching plans, with the possibility of using reliever Sergio Romo as the game “opener” for all three games against the Orioles this weekend.