The Tampa Bay Rays ready themselves for a two-game road set against Howie Kendrick — the Ray killer who boasts a 16-game hitting streak — and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.
Kendrick has owned Tampa Bay over 52 career games, batting .359 with four homers and 24 RBI. More impressive, he sports a .377 average in the month of July — 26-66 with three homers and nine RBI during his streak. Kendrick was seemingly unstoppable when he and the Dodgers battled the Rays in May, going 5-9 with an extra base hit and two runs batted in.
The Dodgers currently lay claim to top wild-card spot in the National League, while the Rays are one game ahead of Minnesota for the bottom spot in the American League after dropping three straight in Oakland over the weekend — all by one run. On the plus side, Corey Dickerson is 11-25 with four RBI during a six-game hitting streak.
Kevin Cash will throw Chris Archer (5-13, 4.60 ERA) and Matt Moore (6-7, 4.31 ERA) over the span of the next two days. Dave Roberts will respond with Bud Norris (5-9, 4.56 ERA) and Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.21 ERA).
Rays Series Starters
Archer threw six strong innings against the Rockies on Wednesday, scattering four hits while fanning 11 and walking two en route to his first win since the middle of June. Archer has been disappointing this season, however, he tossed an excellent outing in Colorado. And while his ERA and W/L record are less than stellar, the righty has struck out 147 batters — best in the AL. Archer’s biggest struggle has been with fastball command; his 51 walks speak to that. In short, the free passes have been a major factor in his struggles this.
Moore held Oakland to three runs on four hits over seven innings Thursday, while fanning six and walking two in the Rays’ lone win of that series. The southpaw has now collected five consecutive quality starts, although he’s just 3-2 with a not-so-impressive 2-to-1 K/BB over that span. With a .167 BABIP over the last 14 days, t’s safe to say the luck dragons have been on Moore’s side. If the trade rumors swirling around MattyMoe are true, this could be his last start in a Rays uniform.
Dodgers Series Starters
Norris pitched 1-1/3 innings of relief in Friday’s 16-inning loss to St. Louis. He took the loss in that game after allowing one run on two hits and a walk. Norris was great in his first start with Los Angeles on July 1, however, his ERA has jumped from 3.89 to 4.56 since, although in all fairness he has wrung up 26 batters in 22-2/3 innings over that stretch. The righty, with an excellent diving slider, is 1-2 with a 4.62 ERA in six starts against Tampa Bay. Key matchups: Corey Dickerson (1-3), Brandon Guyer (1-3), Kevin Kiermaier (2-6, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (2-5, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (4-7, 2B, 3 RBI)
McCarthy left Friday’s game in the seventh inning with a right calf cramp. He was in the midst of a solid start against St. Louis, having gone 6-1/3 innings and allowing just one earned run on a hit and three walks while fanning four. Despite the fact that he exited after just 85 pitches, this was his longest outing since returning from Tommy John surgery. McCarthy is 5-3 with a 2.88 ERA in 11 starts vs. Tampa Bay. The righty relies primarily on a whiffy 93 mph four-seam fastball and a hard 81 mph curveball, while also mixing in a 91 mph sinker and a 91 mph cutter with little cut and good “rising” action. Key matchups: Curt Casali (1-3, RBI), Corey Dickerson (2-5), Logan Morrison (1-3)
Noteworthiness
— Logan Morrison (wrist) should return to the lineup after missing the last six games.
— Logan Forsythe is 9-28 with a homer and six RBI during a six-game hitting streak.
— Corey Seager is 16-40 during an eight-game hitting streak, raising his average to .306.