After splitting a series against the Yankees, and going 4-2 on their most recent homestand, the Tampa Bay Rays make their way to Arlington, where they will start a four-game series against the Rangers on Monday. The Rangers took three out of four from the Athletics in their most recent series.
At 28-19, the Rays enter play a season-high-matching nine games over .500, while the Rangers enter play 22-24 on the season.
The Rays have won four of their last six games due in large part to the pitching staff, which has a combined 3.23 ERA and 3.70 FIP on the season, with a 1.09 WHIP, and a .216 opponent batting average. If you take Thursday’s game out of the equation, Tampa Bay’s hurlers limited the Yankees to just five runs total.
Over the last 10 games, Tampa Bay has ridden the pitching staff which has performed to a 2.20 ERA over that stretch, while the offense has a +9 run differential. All told, the Rays’ offense has put up 198 runs on the season with a .234 combined batting average and a .296 on-base percentage.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have won three out of the four games, yet they dropped the previous two series versus the Angels and Astros (respectively). Texas’ pitching staff has an overall 3.95 ERA and a 4.13 FIP, with a 1.30 WHIP, and a .237 opponent batting average.
Over the last 10 games, the Rangers are 5-5 with .256 batting average, outscoring opponents by 10 runs. All told, the Rangers have scored 199 runs with a .231 combined batting average and a .292 on-base percentage.
The Rays went 3-4 against the Rangers last season and were outscored by just two runs. However, they took two out of three in Arlington.
Pitching Probables
Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will turn to Drew Rasmussen (5-1, 2.68 ERA), Ryan Yarbrough (0-1, 3.98 ERA) in some capacity, Jeffrey Springs (2-2, 1.62 ERA), and Corey Kluber (1-2, 4.03 ERA). Christopher Woodward will counter with Glenn Otto (2-2, 4.91 ERA), Martin Perez (3-2, 1.60 ERA), Jon Gray (1-2, 5.56 ERA), and Taylor Hearn (3-3, 5.36 ERA).
Drew Rasmussen allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven across five innings on Wednesday against the Marlins. Rasmussen began the outing with three scoreless frames but allowed the first four hitters to reach base in the fourth, accounting for the damage. Even so, Rasmussen has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his nine starts, although he has recorded more than 15 outs on only two occasions. On the season, Rasmussen maintains a 2.68 ERA and a 2.91 FIP, with a 0.98 WHIP, and 4.10 K/BB across 43.2 innings.
Glenn Otto allowed one run over five innings against the Angels on Wednesday. He surrendered three hits, walked two, and struck out seven. Otto gave up a first-inning run but settled down after that, keeping Los Angeles off the scoreboard for his remaining four frames. The right-hander racked up a season-high seven punchouts and picked up his first win since his first outing of the season on April 22. Otto has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his six outings, but his 4.91 ERA is marred by an eight-run, four-inning blowup against the Red Sox in the middle of May. On the season, Otto maintains a 4.91 ERA and a 4.94 FIP, with a 1.40 WHIP, and 1.67 K/BB across 29.1 innings. He relies primarily on a 93 mph four-seam fastball and an 81 mph slider that sweeps across the zone and has exceptional depth, while also mixing in a whiffy 93 mph sinker, an 81 mph curveball with 12-6 movement and sharp downward bite, and a firm 88 mph changeup with arm-side fade.
Ryan Yarbrough allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk while striking out five across 5.1 innings against the Yankees on Thursday. Yarbrough held the Yankees scoreless through five innings although he struggled in his final frame. The left-hander allowed three of the first four hitters he faced to reach base then exited with runners on first and third, and both of them came around to score. It was the longest start of Yarbrough’s season and his fourth consecutive outing having allowed two or fewer earned runs. The southpaw now maintains a 3.98 ERA and a 3.73 FIP, with a 1.38 WHIP and a 2.5 K/BB across 20.1 frames on the season. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three career outings (two starts) against the Rangers.
Martin Perez allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts across seven innings against the Athletics on Thursday. For the seventh straight start, Perez limited the opposing offense to one run or fewer as Oakland was only able to scratch across one run in the fourth inning. Despite the excellent stretch and a 1.12 ERA across 48.1 innings on the season, Perez has won just three games as Texas is scoring just 3.7 runs per game during the streak. On the season, Perez maintains a 1.60 ERA and a 2.43 FIP, with a 0.99 WHIP, and 3.14 K/BB across 56.1 innings, although a 3.65 xFIP indicates Perez’s ERA stands to increase some. He relies primarily on a 93 mph four-seam fastball, a 79 mph curveball with 49 inches of drop, an 84 mph changeup, an 89 mph sinking cutter, and a 92 mph cut fastball. Superlatives aside, Perez is 2-6 with a 6.03 ERA in 13 career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (3-9, HR, RBI), Yandy Diaz (7-19, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Wander Franco (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI), Francisco Mejia (1-2), Mike Zunino (8-26, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB)
Jeffrey Springs gave up just two runs on five hits over six innings on Friday against the Yankees. He struck out six without walking a batter. It was a strong performance from the southpaw, who tossed 80 pitches (56 strikes, 70% strike rate) in his first quality start of the season. However, Springs served up a pair of solo homers in the fourth inning and had no margin for error. Springs has a 1.62 ERA and a 2.96 FIP on the season, with a 0.84 WHIP, and 4.75 K/BB across 33.1 innings on the season. Springs is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 2.1 career innings against Texas.
Jon Gray surrendered five runs on five hits and three walks over six frames on Friday against Oakland. He struck out five. All five runs charged to Gray came during a nightmare third inning that was capped off by Sean Murphy and Chad Pinder launching back-to-back solo homers. The right-hander had gone four straight starts without allowing a homer since he coughed up a pair against Seattle on April 19. He now sports a disappointing 5.56 ERA and a 4.02 FIP, with a 2.46 K/BB through 34 innings. Gray relies primarily on a 95 mph four-seam fastball with slight arm-side run and an 85 mph slider with short glove-side cut, while also mixing in an 89 mph changeup. Key Matchups: Francisco Mejia (2-5), Harold Ramirez (1-3)
Corey Kluber got the start against the Bronx Bummers on Saturday and allowed a run on three hits and struck out five in six innings versus the Yankees on Saturday. Kluber alternated effective and short starts during May, ending the month on a high note with one of his best outings of the ’22 campaign. The only run against him came on an Anthony Rizzo sacrifice fly in the first inning. The right-hander retired 16 of his last 17 batters faced and threw 54 of 80 pitches for strikes (68% strike rate). Overall, the Rays retired 25 of the final 27 Yankees hitters. Kluber maintains a 4.03 ERA and 3.53 FIP on the season (a pair of bad games have inflated his numbers), with a 1.19 WHIP, and a 5.25 K/BB across 44.2 innings across (nine starts). He is 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA in nine career starts against Texas.
Taylor Hearn gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk over six innings on Saturday. He struck out five. Hearn came through with his first quality start of the season, and his first outing of more than five innings. The southpaw maintains a 5.36 ERA and a 5.07 FIP, with a 1.66 WHIP, and 2.00 K/BB through 40.1 innings on the season. He relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball and an 84 mph slider that has exceptional depth, while also mixing in a 94 mph sinker, and an 87 mph changeup that has some natural sink to it. Hearn is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in three career outings (5.1 relief innings) against the Rays. Key Matchups: Francisco Mejia (1-2, BB), Taylor Walls (1-1, 2B)
Noteworthiness
— From Neil’s lips to your ears: “Yesterday’s (Sunday) victory was the fifth in franchise history where Tampa Bay was held to two hits or fewer, but the first where the win wasn’t by a 1–0 score. Pitching had a lot to do with the Rays earning a split. The team now has an MLB best 2.16 ERA over the past 16 games.”