At least the roof at the Trop was festive this past weekend. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

After dropping two of three to the Guardians, the Tampa Bay Rays look to cap their homestand on a high note, when they welcome the Blue Jays into the Trop for a two-game series, starting Tuesday.

At 54-48 on the season, the Rays enter play six games over .500 and with an opportunity to make up some ground on Toronto in the division and Wildcard race.

On the positive side of things, the Rays averaged 4.33 runs per game against the Guardians and scored six two-out runs … although the glut of the offensive output came in one game, on Saturday. All in all, they needed a greater level of production in order to win the series, and going 5-for-17 wRISP clearly didn’t cut it.

While the Blue Jays took three of four from the Tigers, they only scored three more runs than Tampa Bay in doing so and averaged fewer runs per game overall. Still, even though they’ve played to a 93 wRC+ over the last week of play — 7% worse than the Rays, who were exactly league average over that stretch — Toronto was more advantageous with their hits, resulting in, well … better results.

Simply put, the Rays cannot afford to lose this series lest they slip further behind Toronto. On the flip side, a series win would bring Tampa Bay within one game of Toronto by the end of the set. The known known: the Blue Jays are a powerful team, although they’ve been a powerful team for years now. That’s nothing new. The Rays are 5-3 against them this season, so the Jays are beatable. The revamped offense, thanks to the acquisitions of David Peralta and José Siri, will need to pop off Tuesday and Wednesday — which it is fully capable of — while the pitching staff will be tasked with keeping the wolves at bay.

Pitching Probables

Over the next two days, Kevin Cash is expected to turn to Drew Rasmussen (6-3, 3.17 ERA) and Ryan Yarbrough (0-6, 5.11 ERA). John Schneider will counter with Kevin Gausman (7-8, 3.30 ERA) and Yusei Kikuchi (4-5, 4.89 ERA).

Drew Rasmussen allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four batters over 4.2 innings against Baltimore on Wednesday. Rasmussen didn’t allow any extra-base hits in the contest, but the Orioles were able to string together baserunners well enough to put up three runs against the right-hander. Tampa Bay appears intent on keeping his innings in order, as he’s thrown five or more innings only twice over his past six starts despite delivering a respectable 3.45 ERA during that span. All told, he maintains a 3.17 ERA and a 3.63 FIP, with a 3.04 K/BB, and a 1.20 WHIP across 82.1 innings. He is 0-0 with a 1.74 ERA in two starts against Toronto this season.

Kevin Gausman allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 4.2 innings versus the Cardinals, on Wednesday. Gausman had little trouble with the Cardinals the first time through the order, although he struggled the second time around and was ultimately chased with two on in the fifth inning. Trevor Richards then gave up a three-run home run to Albert Pujols, which put two more runs on Gausman’s ledger in his fourth start of less than five innings this season. The right-hander has only given up five earned runs twice in 19 starts, and he has a 3.30 ERA and a 2.07 FIP, with a 1.32 WHIP, and 6.42 K/BB in 103.2 innings overall. Gausman is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Yandy Diaz (1-1, BB), Brandon Lowe (1-3, 3B), David Peralta (6-20, 2B, 3 RBI), Rene Pinto (1-1), Taylor Walls (1-4)

Ryan Yarbrough put together his best outing of the season against the Orioles, allowing one run on four hits and zero walks over six innings. He struck out eight. Yarbrough set a season-high with the eight punchouts and finished at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer for the first time this season. However, the southpaw got no run support in the 3-0 loss. On the season, Yarbrough sports a 5.11 ERA and a 4.80 FIP, with a 2.62 K/BB, and a 1.42 WHIP across 49.1 innings. Over his career, Yarbrough is 8-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 19 outings (nine starts) against the Blue Jays.

Yusei Kikuchi pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out five batters against the Tigers on Thursday. Kikuchi was activated earlier in the day after spending three weeks on the Injured List due to a neck strain, and he was able to give Toronto 67 pitches and five innings. The only blemish to his line came on a second-inning home run off the bat of Willi Castro. A caveat: Kikuchi has completed five innings in only seven of 17 starts this season. Overall, Kikuchi maintains a 4.89 ERA and a 5.71 FIP, with a 1.88 K/BB, and a 1.50 WHIP across 70.0 innings. Kikuchi is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in one start against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Christian Bethancourt (1-1, RBI), Isaac Paredes (1-2, HR, RBI), David Peralta (1-4, 2B, BB)