After a demoralizing, yet winnable, series against the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays will host the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series starting Friday. The Pirates took three-of-four from the Cubs last week.
The Rays enter the series five games over .500 at 37-32 on the season, while the Pirates come in at 29-40 on the season.
Having gone 22-15 at the Trop this season, Tampa Bay is hoping to regroup and notch a series win, as they attempt to rebuild the confidence that has made them so dangerous the last few seasons. That, however, doesn’t mean Pittsburgh will go down easily, and the Rays will need to make sure that they’re sharp on both ends if they want to start to string together some wins.
While they’ve seen their lineup take a massive step back from a production point of view, they did put up a fight against New York, and over the last week more broadly, slashing an overall .256 BA/.309 OBP/.414 SLG/.723 OPS line with a .315 wOBA leading to a respectable 112 wRC+. Yet, while they got runners on, they had a difficult time moving them over or bringing them home resulting in a .063 wRISP batting average against New York, and just 19 runs scored over the last seven days.
Meanwhile, the Pirates have continued to struggle over the last few seasons, with this season being not much different. They enter the set in third place in the division, while remaining single digits behind Milwaukee and St. Louis. While the playoffs seem like a stretch for this group, having gone 5-5 in their last ten games gives them some confidence that they can stay competitive moving forward.
A problematic 12-20 road record belies what was mentioned above, not to mention they are about to face a very good pitching staff (one that did not show up on Wednesday, in the series finale against the Bronx Bummers … I digress).
While they’ve been marginally less productive than Tampa Bay in many regards over the last seven days — with the Pirates slashing .218 BA/.291 OBO/.437 SLG/.728 OPS with a .313 wOBA and a league-average 100 wRC+ — it bears mentioning that Pittsburgh has scored more than twice as many runs as Tampa Bay across that stretch, and doubled the RBI total. The Pirates were also more powerful to the tune of a .218 ISO as compared to Tampa Bay’s .158 ISO.
The Rays went 1-2 against the Pirates the last time these two faced off in 2017 and were outscored by six runs.
Pitching Probables
Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will turn to Jeffrey Springs (3-2, 2.00 ERA), Corey Kluber (3-4, 3.46 ERA), and Shane McClanahan (7-3, 1.81 ERA). Derek Shelton will counter with Mitch Keller (2-5, 4.72 ERA), JT Brubaker (1-7, 4.11 ERA), and Roansy Contreras (2-1, 2.89 ERA).
Jeffrey Springs surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six over 4.1 innings against the Orioles on Saturday. Springs labored through 4.1 innings in Baltimore, snapping a string of six effective outings dating back to mid-May. Everything unraveled for the southpaw in the bottom of the fifth when four singles and a walk plated three runs and knocked him out of the game with his team up 6-5. All told, Springs maintains a 2.00 ERA and a 2.98 FIP, with a 4.31 K/BB and a 0.98 WHIP across 54.0 innings.
Mitch Keller allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over six innings on Sunday against the Giants. He struck out four. After coughing up a pair of runs in the first inning, Keller fired five scoreless frames to produce another solid performance. He retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced, including a streak of 10 at one point. Since rejoining the rotation on May 31, Keller has turned in four consecutive starts of at least five innings and fewer than three runs. All told, Keller has performed to a 4.72 ERA and a 4.45 FIP, with a 1.92 K/BB and a 1.44 WHIP across 61.0 innings on the season. He relies primarily on a 96 mph four-seam fastball that has some natural sinking action, and an 87 mph slider that has some two-plane movement, while also mixing in an 80 mph curveball that has an exceptional bite, a 95 mph worm-killer sinker, and a hard 92 mph changeup that has slight arm-side fade and some natural sink to it.
Corey Kluber allowed two unearned runs on four hits, a hit batsman, and a walk while striking out three across six innings against the Yankees. Kluber held New York hitless through the first three innings, yet two Tampa Bay errors led to his unearned runs in the fourth inning. The veteran has had two strong outings against New York this season, allowing just one earned run across 12 innings. Overall, Kluber maintains a solid 3.46 ERA and a 3.61 FIP, with a 5.45 K/BB and a 1.09 WHIP across 67.2 innings of work. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in one career start against Pittsburgh.
JT Brubaker allowed five hits and three walks over six shutout innings on Monday against Chicago, while striking out five. The Cubs threatened to score on multiple occasions, including the first when Rafael Ortega was thrown out at home to end the inning, but Brubaker held them scoreless. Overall, the 28-year-old maintains a 4.11 ERA and a 4.30 FIP, with a 2.26 K/BB and a 1.43 WHIP in 2022. He relies primarily on a 93 mph sinker that has slight arm-side run, and an 87 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in an 80 mph 12-6 curveball, a 93 mph four-seam fastball that has some natural sinking action, and an 88 mph changeup with sink. Key Matchup: Harold Ramirez (1-3, HR, RBI)
Shane McClanahan allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out eight across six innings against the Yankees on Monday. McClanahan served up a first-inning solo homer to Anthony Rizzo, although he didn’t allow any other runs for the remainder of his outing. He coaxed 16 swinging strikes and racked up eight punchouts in a marquee matchup against Kermit the Frog Gerrit Cole. The lefthander has allowed two runs or or fewer in nine consecutive starts and has posted a 1.26 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and a 7.89 K/BB over that span.
Roansy Contreras gave up one run on four hits and two walks over five innings against the Cubs on Tuesday. He struck out three. The rookie didn’t flash the dominance he’s capable of, however, Contreras didn’t need to as he was staked to a 5-0 lead by the end of the third. He has yet to complete six frames in a start, but since moving into the rotation in late May, Contreras has delivered a 2.73 ERA, with a 1.38 WHIP, and 2.55 K/BB through 29.2 innings. He relies primarily on a 97 mph four-seam fastball and an 85 mph slider that has some two-plane movement, while also mixing in an 80 mph worm-killer curveball that has a sharp downward bite.
Noteworthiness
— Wander Franco took another step toward rejoining the big league squad this weekend, collecting a double and two walks for Durham while playing the entire game on Thursday. Tonight, he is expected to play his final game before rejoining the Rays this weekend.
— Tampa Bay added some pitching depth yesterday, acquiring David McKay who had been designated for assignment by the Yankees, for cash considerations. McKay, who was with Tampa Bay during Spring Training, will report to Durham. Manuel Margot was moved to the 60-day IL to create space on the 40-man roster.