After winning two of three in San Francisco, the Tampa Bay Rays cap their road trip in Anaheim, when they open a three-game set against the Angels on Friday. The Angels dropped two of three against the Rangers.
At 73-50 on the season, the Rays enter play 23 games over .500 with 39 games left to play.
The Rays played well aside from Tuesday’s shit show in San Francisco. In Monday and Wednesday’s contests, Tampa Bay limited the Giants to just three total runs, while the offense averaged eight. As expected, the Rays’ power numbers were suppressed in the cool San Francisco night air, yet they ripped three homers in the finale, including a Luke Raley inside-the-park homer. They have now won four out of their last five series in spite of all the gnarly shit that continues to pummel the team. Over the last week, the Rays have put up a 109 wRC+ on the backs of a .268 BA/.322 OBP/.415 SLG/.727 OPS line.
The Angels continued their second-half slide against the Rangers, and have scored only 13 runs in the last seven days. Their .176 BA/.216 OBP/.303 SLG/.519 OPS slash line has been ice-cold over that stretch, resulting in a 37 wRC+. They have won just four of the last 15 games.
The Rays enter play with an overall 3.86 ERA and 3.89 FIP (3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP for the starters, 4.05 ERA, and 4.31 FIP for the relievers). Over the last seven days, Tampa Bay improved (over the previous week) to a combined 4.94 ERA and 3.92 FIP (3.74 ERA and 3.65 FIP for the starters, 6.35 ERA and a 4.25 FIP for the relievers).
Meanwhile, the Angels’ pitching staff has been okay overall, pitching to an overall 4.54 ERA and 4.53 FIP (4.61 ERA and 4.49 FIP for the starters, 4.44 ERA, and 4.58 FIP for the relievers). They’ve regressed dramatically over the last seven days to a combined 7.20 ERA and a 5.04 FIP (7.07 ERA and a 5.34 FIP for the starters, 7.36 ERA and a 4.67 FIP for the relievers).
The Rays went 5-2 against the Angels last season, albeit with a -1 run differential.
Pitching Probables
Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will turn to Erasmo Ramirez (2-3, 5.72 ERA, 4.28 FIP) for an undetermined amount of time, Zach Eflin (12-7, 3.67 ERA, 3.10 FIP), and Tyler Glasnow (6-3, 3.01 ERA, 3.12 FIP). Phil Nevin will counter with Tyler Anderson (5-4, 5.28 ERA, 4.41 FIP), Chase Silseth (4-1, 3.27 ERA, 4.55 FIP), and Patrick Sandoval (6-9, 4.09 ERA, 4.06 FIP)
Erasmo Ramirez will be pitching on two days’ rest, although he shouldn’t be too tired after tossing just 18 pitches in a one-inning appearance Tuesday in San Francisco. He has covered between two and 3.1 innings in each of his prior four outings, although he likely won’t go further than four frames. Overall, Ramirez owns a 5.72 ERA and a 4.28 FIP, with a 1.58 WHIP, and a 3.00 K/BB across 39.1 innings.
Tyler Anderson allowed seven runs on six hits and three walks while striking out six batters over 4.2 innings Saturday against the Astros. Anderson put up through three scoreless frames before the Astros struck for four runs in the fourth, with three coming on a Kyle Tucker homer. The southpaw then allowed four consecutive hitters to reach base with two outs in the fifth inning — three of whom came around to score. Anderson looked like he might be turning things around in his past two turns coming into Saturday, as he had allowed just three runs over 11.1 frames. Yet, he’s been disappointing as a whole after signing with the Angels in the offseason, posting a 5.28 ERA and a 4.41 FIP, with a 1.52 WHIP across 109 innings. Anderson relies primarily on a 90 mph fourseam fastball, an 80 mph changeup and an 85 mph cutter that has extreme cut action, while also mixing in an 88 mph heavy sinker.
Zach Eflin allowed six runs on nine hits and one walk over three innings Sunday against Cleveland. He struck out three. The Guardians were all over Eflin, who allowed multiple hits in each of his three innings, including four extra-base hits (two of which left the yard). He’s allowed one or fewer runs over six or more innings in three of his last six appearances while allowing at least five runs over four or fewer innings in his other three games. All told, Eflin owns a 3.67 ERA and a 3.10 FIP, with a 1.03 WHIP, and a 7.33 K/BB across 132.1 innings.
Chase Silseth tossed five scoreless innings against the Astros on Sunday. He allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out five. Silseth has made four starts since his July 19 promotion, all against teams currently over .500, and holds a 1.59 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, with a 6.2 K/BB across 22.2 innings. Worth noting, Phil Nevin has allowed Silseth to throw more than 85 pitches only once over that span, and he’s reached six innings only once. He relies primarily on an 83 mph slider that sweeps across the zone and a whiffy 95 mph fourseam fastball, while also mixing in a 94 mph sinker that has some natural sinking action, a firm 87 mph splitter that has some natural sink to it, and a 92 mph worm-killer cutter.
Tyler Glasnow allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over six innings against the Giants on Monday. Glasnow hadn’t pitched since July 31 due to back spasms, but the issue appeared to be a non-factor Monday. The right-hander received plenty of run support and was pulled after a modest 87 pitches but still managed to record six innings to finish with his fifth straight quality start. Over that stretch, Glasnow has been dominant, posting a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, with a 4.33 K/BB over 33 innings.
Patrick Sandoval surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits and six walks over 2.2 innings Monday against the Rangers. He struck out six. Sandoval allowed two runs in the second inning followed by three more in the third and struggled with his command all night. He previously gave up two runs or fewer in five straight starts before Monday’s hiccup. His ERA climbed to 4.09 with a lackluster 4.06 FIP, a 1.88 K/BB, and a 1.42 through 112.1 frames. Sandoval relies primarily on an 86 mph slider, an 83 mph swing-and-miss changeup, and a 93 mph fourseam fastball, while also mixing in a 93 mph worm-killer sinker, and a 76 mph curveball that has slight glove-side movement. Key Matchups: Brandon Lowe (1-3, HR, RBI), Isaac Paredes (1-2, HR, 2 RBI, BB), José Siri (1-2)
Noteworthiness
— Reinforcements incoming. The Rays activated right-hander Andrew Kittredge (Tommy John surgery) from the 60-day Injured List Thursday and designated right-hander Hector Perez for assignment.
Kittredge, 33, has not pitched in a big-league game since June 7, 2022. In six seasons with Tampa Bay, Kittredge is 16-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 167 outings.