After winning two of three against the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, and a rare Monday off-day, the Tampa Bay Rays made their way to Philadelphia, where they will start a two-game series on Tuesday. The Phillies won two-of-three against the Padres this weekend past.
At 77-48 on the season, the Rays enter play 29-games above .500 and 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the division. The Phillies enter play two-games above .500 (63-61), and 5.0 games back of Atlanta in the NL East.
Tampa Bay won the final two games of the series against the South Siders, taking Sunday’s game in one-sided fashion, 9-0. In the series finale, Austin Meadows plated three RBI and had three hits; while Wander Franco scored three runs, drove in a run, and reached base twice; Francisco Mejía drove in three runs on two hits; and Yandy Díaz collected a pair of hits and scored a run.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia won a road series against San Diego, and they continue to hang around in the NL East; they are five games behind the Reds for the second Wildcard spot. On Sunday, the Phillies got four hits from Odubel Herrera to go along with a run and three RBI, while Rhys Hoskins scored a pair and drove in a pair, and J.T. Realmuto drove in two runs and crossed the plate once. Hoskins, in his return to the lineup, homered twice while Realmuto and Herrera each went deep as well.
Tampa Bay continues its torrid tear through the league and boasts a beefy 129 wRC+ and a 16.4 wRAA over the last two weeks. The Phillies, on the other hand, have underperformed the Baltimore Orioles (literally) over the same stretch, performing to a 65 wRC+ and a -16.9 wRAA. Even so, the Phillies are a good team that can levy some damage if given the opportunity.
The Rays won both games against the Phillies earlier in the season, at the Trop.
Pitching Probables
Over the next two days, Kevin Cash will turn to Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 3.64 ERA), and a pitcher to be named before Thursday’s contest. Joe Girardi will counter with Ranger Suarez (5-4, 1.47 ERA), and Zack Wheeler (10-8, 2.77 ERA).
Drew Rasmussen made his second start of the season with Ryan Yarbrough on the COVID-19 IL. After allowing one run across four innings in Boston, Rasmussen tossed four scoreless frames, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three. Even though there were several hard-hit outs, not a single Baltimore runner advanced past first against the right-hander. He threw 38 of 56 pitches for strikes (68% strike rate). On the season, Rasmussen maintains a 3.64 ERA and a 3.26 FIP, with a 1.26 WHIP and a 2.59 K/BB across 47.0 innings.
Ranger Suarez gave up three runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out two over 4.2 innings on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks. Suarez had been solid in his first three outings since sliding into the Phillies rotation, yet a matchup with the 40-81 Diamondbacks tripped up the southpaw. Although he did well to keep the ball on the ground — Suarez only allowed one flyball to the 25 batters he faced — the walks and an untimely rally ultimately led to his demise. He has been built up to 86 pitches, so he could handle a more traditional starter’s workload on Tuesday. On the season, Suarez maintains a 1.47 ERA and a 3.48 FIP, with a 1.02 WHIP and a 2.21 K/BB across 55.0 innings. He allowed a hit and a walk in one relief inning against the Rays this season. Key Matchup: Ji-Man Choi (1-1, 2B, RBI)
TBA
Zack Wheeler allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk across 6.2 innings on Thursday. He struck out seven. Wheeler pitched a complete game against the Mets earlier in August, yet his recent performances have left a lot to be desired with Thursday’s outing not being any different. He has allowed at least four runs in three of his last four turns and has posted a 4.34 ERA across 29 innings in that span. On the season, Wheeler maintains a 2.77 ERA and a 2.53 FIP, with a 1.00 WHIP and a 5.39 K/BB across 168.2 innings. He allowed three runs on four hits (including a homer) and three two walks across seven innings against the Rays previously this season. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-3, RBI), Yandy Díaz (1-2, RBI), Manuel Margot (3-12, 2B), Austin Meadows (2-7, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Joey Wendle (1-3), Mike Zunino (2-3, RBI)
Noteworthiness
— Chris Archer was pulled after two innings and 41 pitches due to hip soreness. Archer said the pain subsided quickly Sunday afternoon and that led him to believe that, with a pair of extra off-days next week, he could be plugged back into the starting rotation the next time his turn comes around.
— The Rays lost first baseman, Ji-Man Choi, on Sunday due to left hamstring tightness. Choi has battled hamstring issues lately, and Rays’ skipper Kevin Cash said Choi “felt it grab him” while legging out a double in the first inning. It continued to tighten up as he rounded third en route to home, and he was lifted in favor of Yandy Díaz. Because of it, Choi has been placed on the 10-Day Injured List retroactive to August 23.
— Designated hitter Nelson Cruz was placed on the COVID-19-related IL on Sunday. Cash said Cruz “woke up not feeling good” on Sunday but hadn’t received any test results. However, the team announced that he has been activated and will get some time at first base for the Rays. He took ground balls at first last week.
— Nick Anderson, Pete Fairbanks, JP Feyereisen, and Ryan Thompson threw for Triple-A Durham on Sunday as they rehab from injuries. David Robertson pitched too as he continues to build up his arm ahead of his first big-league appearance since 2019.