After dropping the series opener against the Tigers on Friday, 10-4, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series tonight in Detroit.
At 88-53 on the season, Tampa Bay enters play 35-games above .500 and still 9.0 games atop the division thanks to losses by the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays.
The Tigers scored eight of their runs Friday on homers, while all 10 runs came on extra-base hits. Yet, you can’t blame right-hander Michael Wacha for the loss, as he was excellent once again.
Michael Wacha got the start Friday and allowed a run on three hits (including a solo homer) across five strong innings. The right-hander struck out six on 68 pitches (47 strikes, 69% strike rate, 10 swings and misses, 15% SwStr%).
Wacha leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball, changeup, and curveball combination once again, while he has thrown just three total cutters in his last three combined starts. The right-hander reduced his ERA and FIP to 5.37 and 4.72 (respectively) and maintains a 1.39 WHIP and a 4.00 K/BB across 105.2 innings on the season.
As expected, Wander Franco was placed on the 10-Day Injured List after he injured his hamstring going from first to third on Nelson Cruz’s first-inning double last night. Franco said his hamstring began to pull as he pushed off second and headed for third, with the intent of scoring on the play.
That’s a base hit that I would normally score on.
— Wander Franco
The infielder also said he dealt with a similar issue during Spring Training in 2019. Franco has reached base in 39 straight games, the second-longest streak in MLB history by a player 20-years-old or younger, although the streak will have to wait for at least 10-days to continue.
The hope is that we caught it early enough where it’s more strain and not a pull.
— Kevin Cash
To fill his spot on the roster, Taylor Walls was recalled from Triple-A Durham. Additionally, Randy Arozarena has been reinstated from the paternity list, with Josh Lowe being optioned back to Durham to clear space on the roster.
THE NEW WHAT NEXT
Chris Archer (1-1, 5.28 ERA) will get the start on Saturday for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Casey Mize (7-7, 3.51 ERA).
Chris Archer allowed four runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts through five innings on Saturday. This wasn’t Archer’s finest outing, but with the Rays clobbering six home runs on the afternoon, the right-hander recorded his first win since 2019. Even with the victory, there are still some concerns with the two-time All-Star. All of the runs allowed came on a pair of two-out, two-run homers that followed a walk. Speaking of free passes, he walked a season-high four batters and found the zone just 59% of the time.
On a positive note, his five innings are the deepest he’s gone in a game this season, while his average fastball velocity ticked up. The right-hander hit 94 – 95 mph on multiple occasions. On the season, Archer maintains a 5.28 ERA and a 4.60 FIP, with a 1.50 WHIP and a 2.50 K/BB across 15.1 innings. Archer is 2-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 10 career outings against the Tigers.
Casey Mize tossed three scoreless innings, fanning two. Mize hadn’t tossed such a short outing since July 2, when he also hurled three innings against the White Sox — although in that contest he surrendered two earned runs on four hits and a walk while fanning two. Mize has allowed two runs or fewer in three of his last four appearances. Even though he has struggled to pitch deep into ball games, he’s limited the damage. He owns a 3.95 ERA across six appearances (27.1 innings) since the start of August. On the whole, Mize maintains a 3.51 ERA and a 4.88 FIP, with a 2.72 K/BB, and a 1.13 WHIP through 138.1 innings on the season. He relies primarily on an 86 mph slider with two-plane movement, a whiffy 94 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action, and a 93 mph sinker with slight arm-side run, while also mixing in an 86 mph splitter that dives down out of the zone, and an 81 mph curveball that has sharp downward bite. Key Matchup: Nelson Cruz (1-2, BB)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
RAYS 9/11/21 STARTING LINEUP
- B. Lowe 2B
- Meadows LF
- Cruz DH
- Choi 1B
- Arozarena RF
- Wendle 3B
- Zunino C
- Kiermaier CF
- Walls SS
- Archer RHP