After taking two out of three from the Red Sox in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays continue will their road trip in Minneapolis, where they are set to start a three-game series against the Twins on Friday. The Twins previously won two of three against the White Sox.
At 70-45 on the season, the Rays enter play 25-games over .500 and are still atop the division by five games.
On July 5, Tampa Bay trailed Boston by 4.5 games. They are 21-9 since then, and 7-3 over the last 10 games. The Rays lead the majors with 36 come-from-behind victories on the season, including four in the last seven games. While ex-Twin Nelson Cruz is hitting .188 with four homers, 10 RBI, and an 80 wRC+ in 16 games since the Rays acquired the slugger, nine players — Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Mike Zunino, Brett Phillips, Wander Franco, Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot, Yandy Díaz, and Francisco Mejía — boast a wRC+ of 170 or greater over the same stretch. Speaking of Phillips, the outfielder hit his third grand slam in the Rays’ past nine games on Wednesday — his fourth homer in 21 plate appearances. The offensive production has paid dividends, as Tampa Bay has scored eight runs or more in six consecutive games — a franchise record.
The Twins are coming off back-to-back series wins over Houston and Chicago, having gone 5-2 to win consecutive series for just the second time in the 2021 campaign. Minnesota opened the season with series wins over Milwaukee and Detroit before the wheels fell off en route to one of the worst records in baseball. Regardless, Jorge Polanco is toasty, hitting .345 with seven home runs and 13 RBI in his past 14 games. Minnesota’s bullpen has also been good, going 3-0 with five saves and a 2.65 ERA across the last 37.1 innings. The Twins relievers have struck out 39 and limited opponents to a .183 batting average in that span.
The Rays went 2-5 against the Twins in 2019, the last time these two teams faced off. Four of the seven games were decided by a handful of runs.
Pitching Probables
Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will turn to Shane McClanahan (6-4, 3.75 ERA), a pitcher to be named before Saturday’s contest, and Luis Patiño (2-3, 4.64 ERA). Rocco Baldelli will counter with Michael Pineda (4-7, 3.83 ERA), Kenta Maeda (5-4, 4.69 ERA), and a pitcher to be named before the series finale.
Shane McClanahan got the start on Saturday and was impressive across seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight. The left-hander threw 62 of 92 pitches for strikes (67% strike rate) while coaxing 15 swinging strikes (16% SwStr%). McClanahan dominated the Orioles, with just a shaky, 30-pitch third accounting for the only troublesome frame.
McClanahan retired the first seven batters — striking out three of them — before Jorge Mateo sliced a first-pitch double to right, swiped third on the next pitch, then scored on Mike Zunino’s errant throw into left field, making it a one-run contest. Number nine hitter Richie Martin walked before Cedric Mullins hit a two-run homer to right-center on the very next pitch, putting Baltimore in the lead. Yet, McClanahan tightened things up after that and allowed just one base runner on an infield hit in the fifth. The trusty left-hander now maintains a 3.74 ERA and a 3.55 FIP on the season, with a 1.25 WHIP, and a 3.54 K/BB across 84.0 innings.
Michael Pineda allowed two earned runs on seven hits while striking out three across six innings, on Saturday against the Astros. Pineda allowed just one extra-base hit on a fourth-inning solo home run by Yordan Alvarez. The 32-year-old has a 3.83 ERA and a 4.15 FIP, with a 1.20 WHIP, and a 7.7 K/9 across 82.1 innings this season. He relies primarily on a 91 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action and an 81 mph slider with 12-6 movement, while also mixing in a firm 86 mph changeup with slight arm-side fade. Pineda is 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 14 career starts against Tampa Bay.
TBA
Kenta Maeda allowed three runs on six hits and three walks over five innings against Houston on Sunday. He struck out five. With a 1.80 WHIP and 100 pitches through five innings, it is safe to say it wasn’t Maeda’s most efficient outing. He allowed RBI base hits in each of the first, fourth, and fifth innings, yet still managed to escape with a tally in the win column. The right-hander has allowed at least three runs in four of his last five outings, raising his season ERA to 4.69 through 19 starts. Maeda now maintains a 4.69 ERA and a 4.24 FIP on the season, with a 1.34 WHIP, and a 3.47 K/BB across 96.0 innings. The right-hander allowed three runs on three hits including one homer in one, one-inning outing against the Rays. Maeda relies primarily on an 82 mph slider, an 84 mph splitter, and a 91 mph four-seam fastball, while also throwing a 90 mph sinker. Key Matchups: Manuel Margot (5-19, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Austin Meadows (1-1, 2B), Francisco Mejía (3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI)
Luis Patiño got the start Tuesday against Boston and allowed four runs on six hits (including two home runs) and three walks while striking out seven. Patiño threw 60 of 103 pitches for strikes (58% strike rate) and got 10 swinging strikes (10% SwStr%, which is just under his season average). Boston only scored twice against the right-hander, who pitched better than his line might suggest. Rafael Devers homered off Patiño in the second inning, while Boston put together a two-out rally in the fourth which preceded a Hunter Renfroe three-run homer to centerfield. He settled down and left the bases full in the fifth inning, while also striking out a pair in the sixth to keep the Rays within striking distance. Most impressive about the 21-year-old: he showed poise and confidence on the mound despite the fact that he staked himself to a three-run deficit. While a four-spot against his ledger isn’t pretty, Patiño was able to navigate through one of the league’s toughest lineups with spotty command and still averaged more than one punchout per inning.
TBA
Noteworthiness
— On Thursday, Tampa Bay selected the contract of right-hander Evan Phillips. Left-hander Dietrich Enns was optioned to Triple-A Durham to open a spot on the active roster.
Phillips recently signed a minor league deal with the Rays and will give the club a fresh arm in the ‘pen. He’s shown big-time strikeout potential in past big-league stints with Baltimore although he also has given up far too many walks to remain effective. From 2019-20, Phillips pitched 42.1 frames with the Orioles and fanned 28.7% of his opponents but also worked to a 2.0 K/BB. Between that and a .398 BABIP, he was knocked around for a 5.95 ERA in that span. However, if there is a team equipped to “fix” Phillips, it is the Rays.