After an off-day on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays hit the road en route to Baltimore, where they’ll kick off a three-game series against Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Tampa Bay salvaged the finale of their three-game series against the Mariners to avoid a sweep, while Baltimore dropped two of three against the Yankees including a pair of drubbings in the Bronx.
The Rays enter play at 65-44 on the season, 21-games over .500 and 1.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the division.
Tampa Bay bounced back from back-to-back losses (and six in a row against Seattle) as they rallied on Wednesday. And while they finished Wednesday’s contest with just five hits, four went for extra bases. Randy Arozarena (run, two RBI) was the lone player with two hits as he doubled and tripled in the win. Mike Zunino added his home run number 21 of the season in the victory, while Ryan Sherriff worked a scoreless ninth, striking out one, for his first save of 2021.
Baltimore had won seven of 10 after winning the opening game of the series Monday against the Yankees but got bombed to the tune of a 19-run differential in the second and third games of the set. Baltimore got a pair of hits from Cedric Mullins (run) while Ryan Mountcastle hit his 19th homer of the season on Wednesday. Neither, however, were enough to earn the victory.
Tampa Bay has dominated Baltimore this season, winning eight of the nine matchups while outscoring the Orioles 63-34. Six of those eight wins have come by multiple runs with four of those victories coming by at least five runs. A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that Baltimore is atrocious when it comes to preventing opposing teams from putting runs on the board. Still, the Orioles have performed well the last two weeks, putting up a 101 wRC+ and a 0.7 wRAA, with a .215 ISO. They can be a tough team to face, especially since the Rays will have two of their more inconsistent hurlers on the bump this weekend.
Pitching Probables
Kevin Cash will turn to Ryan Yarbrough (6-4, 4.58 ERA), Shane McClanahan (5-4, 3.74 ERA), and Michael Wacha (2-3, 5.26 ERA) for the next three days. Brandon Hyde will counter with John Means (5-3, 2.84 ERA), Spenser Watkins (2-2, 3.81 ERA), and Jorge Lopez (3-12, 5.91 ERA).
Ryan Yarbrough was shaky on Saturday against Boston, surrendering five runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four. Two-run homers by Xander Bogaerts (in the first inning) and Bobby Dalbec (in the fifth) accounted for the bulk of the damage off Yarbrough and he hadn’t served up multiple homers in a start since June 3. Yet, taking his last start into consideration, the soft-contact specialist has allowed a steady rain of homers in ’21 — his 1.42 HR/9 is by far the worst of his career. He was able to settle down after the first inning to retire 11 straight batters, giving the Rays a chance to take the lead in the fourth, yet he allowed the game-tying runs in the next frame. Yarbrough maintains a 4.58 ERA and a 4.30 FIP, with a 1.18 WHIP, and a 4.48 K/BB through 114 innings on the season. He is 1-1 with a 5.60 ERA in three starts against the Orioles this season, and 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA at Camden Yards.
John Means allowed one run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings, versus Detroit on Saturday. After a couple of shaky outings since returning from a shoulder strain, Means finally looked like himself Saturday. The only run he allowed was a fourth-inning solo homer to Eric Haase. Means has been Baltimore’s most reliable starter this season with a 2.84 ERA and a 4.52 FIP, with a 0.87 WHIP, and 5.27 K/BB through 88.2 innings. He is 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA in two starts against the Rays this season. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-2), Yandy Díaz (3-10, 2B, HR, RBI), Brandon Lowe (2-6, 2B), Jordan Loukas (1-4, HR), Manuel Margot (2-6), Joey Wendle (2-7)
Shane McClanahan allowed one run on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings against Boston on Sunday. McClanahan limited Boston to a single run and really only encountered trouble in the fourth inning when Hunter Renfroe homered. Otherwise, he was able to work out of a two-on, one-out jam. The successful outing marks consecutive quality turns for McClanahan, who went six innings while allowing one run or less. The left-hander now maintains a 3.74 ERA and a 3.58 FIP on the season, with a 1.29 WHIP, and 3.37 K/BB through 77.0 innings. The left-hander is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one start against the Orioles this season.
Spenser Watkins allowed four runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 5.2 innings on Sunday versus Detroit. Sunday was the second start in a row in which Watkins surrendered four runs. Baltimore took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, yet the right-hander gave it all back by the end of the frame. He’s posted a 3.81 ERA and a 4.17 FIP on the season, with a 1.31 WHIP and a 1.64 K/BB in 26 innings. The rookie held the Rays to one run on four hits and two walks over six innings in one start this season. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (2-3, 2B, RBI), Ji-Man Choi (1-2, BB), Francisco Mejía (1-1)
Michael Wacha coughed up six runs on eight hits and three walks over four innings on Monday. He struck out three. The right-hander survived the first two innings despite some traffic on the basepaths, however, the wheels came off for Wacha in a five-run third. He threw 57 of 86 pitches for strikes (66% strike rate) before getting the hook, and he hasn’t lasted more than five innings in any of his four outings since the All-Star Break. Wacha maintains a 5.26 ERA and a 4.71 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, and 3.14 K/BB through 75.1 innings on the season. He is 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA in two starts (seven combined innings) against the Orioles.
Jorge Lopez allowed a run on one hit and five walks while striking out four in six innings on Monday. While the five walks were a season-high for the right-hander, he was mostly able to contain his inefficiency. Monday was just the fourth time in 22 starts Lopez completed six innings. He has a 5.91 ERA and a 4.98 FIP, with a 1.64 WHIP, and a 1.96 K/BB through 102 innings in what’s been another difficult season for the hurler. The Rays torched Lopez for five runs on eight hits and a walk across 4.2 innings. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (1-3, HR, 2 RBI), Ji-Man Choi (1-1, 2 BB), Nelson Cruz (3-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Kevin Kiermaier (4-7, 2B, RBI), Brandon Lowe (4-6, 2B, 2 RBI), Manuel Margot (2-4, RBI), Austin Meadows (1-3), Joey Wendle (3-8, 2 2B, RBI)
Noteworthiness
— Collin McHugh played catch on July 30 and 31 and threw a bullpen session on August 1, saying afterward that everything felt “great” and “normal.” He threw 21 pitches in the session on August 4 and should rejoin the Rays’ bullpen at some point during their series in Baltimore.
— Chris Archer was reevaluated in St. Petersburg on August 4, and manager Kevin Cash said the right-hander’s MRI came back “very clean.” The right-hander received an injection and should resume throwing on August 6. If all goes well, Archer should return to Triple-A Durham at some point soon and resume his rehab progression with a three-or-four-inning start.
— The Tampa Bay Rays have placed outfielder Randy Arozarena on the COVID-19 Related IL due to close contact with someone with the virus. The team has not elaborated on what that means. Taking his place on the active roster is outfielder Jordan Luplow, whom the Rays traded for at the deadline, and selected from Triple-A Durham.
Randy famously contracted COVID-19 last season, and did 300 pushups every day while in isolation. He attributed his power stroke to that, and only eating chicken and rice, which is the only thing he knew how to cook.