After sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in four games, the Tampa Bay Rays welcome a formidable opponent, the Chicago White Sox, into the Trop for a three-game, weekend series starting Friday. The White Sox took three of four from the Oakland Athletics this week.
At 75-47 on the season, the Rays enter play a season-high 28-games over .500 and five games up in the division. Chicago enters play at 71-51 on the season and in first place in the AL Central.
While not the most difficult team in the league, the Rays not only swept Baltimore, they outscored them 34-to-8 — limiting the Birds to just two runs per game, on average, while scoring seven or more runs in all four games. In fact, Tampa Bay has scored at least seven runs in 11 of their last 13 games, while putting up an obscene .555 SLG, .905 OPS, .274 ISO, 146 wRC+, and a 25.6 wRAA across that stretch.
The Rays have scored a Major League-best 649 runs this season while ranking sixth with 65 stolen bases. Brandon Lowe hit his team-leading 29th home run on Thursday and is second on the club with 72 RBI. Austin Meadows has also been a force in the lineup with a team-best 83 RBI and 21 long balls. All-Star catcher Mike Zunino has 26 home runs on the season and has homered in the last five games he has played in.
Despite a successful set against Oakland, Chicago is damn near close to being a .500 ball club on the road, having gone 29-28 on the season. Even so, they run fourth in all of baseball with a .332 on-base percentage, eighth in runs with 602, and averaging just under five runs per game. Tim Anderson leads the position players on the club with a 3.3 WAR thanks to 132 hits, and 17 stolen bases to go along with a .300 batting average, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI. The 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu has been the leading slugger with 25 homers and 89 RBI.
The Rays dropped two of three to the White Sox in June, having been outscored by just a run. Suffice it to say, they’ll be looking for revenge this weekend.
Pitching Probables
Kevin Cash will turn to Michael Wacha (2-4, 5.91 ERA), Luis Patiño (2-3, 4.73 ERA), and Chris Archer (0-1, 6.23 ERA). I will update this piece as the weekend progresses. Tony Larussa will counter with Lucas Giolito (9-9, 3.83 ERA), Dallas Keuchel (8-6, 4.48 ERA), and Reynaldo Lopez (2-0, 1.08 ERA).
Michael Wacha got the start Saturday against the Twins, and in an act of self-immolation, the right-hander allowed seven runs on 11 hits and one walk with five strikeouts across five innings. Max Kepler greeted Wacha with a leadoff solo shot two pitches into the ballgame, setting the tone for the entire outing. The right-hander allowed four runs in the first inning and three more in the third, punctuated by a Luis Arraez two-run homer. He did settle in to retire six of the seven batters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings, but the damage was already done. Wacha has now surrendered an astounding 30 hits and 18 earned runs in his last 14 innings pitched.
Following the game, Wacha told Tricia Whitaker (Bally Sports FL) that he intends to keep working through whatever is hampering him.
I believe I’m a better pitcher than what I have shown recently. It’s a terrible feeling putting the team in that situation today. But there’s no quit in me, I’m going to keep working.
— Michael Wacha
With Chris Archer’s return pending, as well as the specter of Shane Baz looming, it would be safe to say Wacha is fighting to keep his job. Overall, Wacha maintains a 5.91 ERA and a 5.09 FIP across 85.1 innings, with a 1.51 WHIP and a 3.17 K/BB.
Lucas Giolito allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks over four innings on Sunday against the Yankees. He struck out eight. All three runs against Giolito came in the second inning, punctuated by a two-run shot off the bat of Rougned Odor. The right-hander labored through his four inefficient frames, throwing 64 of 101 pitches for strikes (63% strike rate) and walking more than one batter for the first time in his last four turns. It’s been an inconsistent month for Giolito so far; his eight-inning gem against the Twins is sandwiched between a pair of starts where he allowed a combined nine runs over eight innings, raising his season ERA to 3.83. All told, Giolito maintains a 3.83 ERA and a 4.04 FIP across 141.0 innings, with a 1.13 WHIP and a 3.83 K/BB. He is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA across four career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (1-3, 2B), Nelson Cruz (10-25, 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (2-8, 2B, 2 RBI), Austin Meadows (2-6), Joey Wendle (2-8, 2B), Mike Zunino (1-4)
Luis Patiño worked three innings and surrendered two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out two on Sunday against Minnesota. Patiño didn’t face an inning’s limit or a pitch count in his ninth start of the season, yet thanks to the season-high five walks, Kevin Cash elected to pull him early after 69 pitches and nine outs. The rookie southpaw had been more efficient over his prior five outings — he worked no fewer than five innings in any of those starts. Patiño maintains a 4.73 ERA and a 4.79 FIP across 45.2 innings, with a 1.31 WHIP and a 2.40 K/BB.
Dallas Keuchel allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings against Oakland on Monday. Keuchel survived a rocky second inning in which he allowed a home run, two walks, and an HBP, then watched the bullpen nail down the win with four scoreless frames. The left-hander had thrown just 79 pitches, yet given his 11.77 ERA in the sixth inning, Michael Kopech, Craig Kimbrel, and Liam Hendriks finished up. Keuchel’s has performed to a 5.13 ERA in the second half, and maintains a 4.48 ERA and a 5.28 FIP across 130.2 innings, with a 1.33 WHIP and a 1.80 K/BB. He held the Rays scoreless across seven innings on June 15, although he is 2-5 with a 4.18 ERA across nine career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (1-3), Nelson Cruz (18-57, 2B, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB), Yandy Diaz (1-3), Austin Meadows (1-3, 2B), Mike Zunino (7-27, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB)
Chris Archer (forearm) has been on the shelf since early April. In his final rehab outing, Archer went 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on one hit and two walks while punching out six. He threw 71 pitches (45 strikes, 63% strike rate). In his two big-league starts in 2021, the right-hander maintains an unsightly 6.23 ERA, yet a 1.10 ERA across 0.0 innings, with a 1.85 WHIP, and a 6.00 K/BB.
Reynaldo Lopez tossed five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four. The right-hander gave up only one hit in the outing — a second-inning base hit to Matt Chapman — that was immediately wiped out by a double play. It should be noted that Lopez is still building up his pitch count. He has looked dominant since returning to the rotation to fill in for the injured Carlos Rodon (shoulder), pitching a total of eight scoreless frames in which he has surrendered just two hits while striking out eight. On the season, Lopez maintains a 1.08 ERA and a 3.49 FIP across 25.0 innings, with a 0.72 WHIP and a 3.71 K/BB. Superlatives aside, he is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 BB), Nelson Cruz (5-14, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (3-8, BB), Brandon Lowe (1-2, 2B, BB), Austin Meadows (3-7, 3B, HR, RBI), Joey Wendle (2-3, 2 2B)