Diamondbacks at Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a season-high 11 games over .500 and will send veteran Charlie Morton to the mound Wednesday afternoon seeking a three-game sweep of the interleague series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. Brandon Lowe launched a solo homer in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games and knocked in two runs as the Rays earned a 6-3 victory on Tuesday.
Lowe, the American League Rookie of the Month for March and April, is 16-for-44 with two homers and seven RBIs during his streak while catcher Mike Zunino has warmed up with the last three games (5-for-11, one homer, five RBIs) for Tampa Bay. Morton, who is 5-1 in his career against the Diamondbacks, looks to remain unbeaten in a Rays uniform when he takes the mound in the series finale and Arizona turns to left-hander Robbie Ray. The Diamondbacks received homers from Carson Kelly and Wilmer Flores in the ninth inning, but it was too little and too late as they fell for the third straight time after winning four in a row. Arizona's top three batters in the lineup - Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta - went 0-for-12 with three strikeouts combined in Tuesday's loss and Christian Walker, who came into the series batting over .400 on the road, is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts the last two days.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Robbie Ray (2-1, 3.79 ERA) vs. Rays RH Charlie Morton (3-0, 2.52)
Ray is looking for his third straight victory after receiving 18 runs of support against Colorado and the Chicago Cubs in his last two starts. The 27-year-old Tennessee native struck out 14 batters in those two outings while giving up eight runs (four earned) over 10 2/3 innings. Tommy Pham is 4-for-8 with a pair of walks versus Ray, who took the loss after yielding five runs over 4 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay in their only previous meeting in 2016.
Morton was outstanding in his last two trips to the mound, blanking Boston on two hits for a win April 27 before limiting Kansas City to one run over 6 2/3 innings last Thursday in a no-decision. The 35-year-old boasts 48 strikeouts across 39 1/3 innings after matching a season high with nine strikeouts and a season low with one walk last time out. Peralta is 3-for-6 with a homer against Morton, who was 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA versus Arizona last year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arizona optioned OF Tim Locastro to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday to make room for RHP Taylor Clarke, who made his first major league start.
2. Tampa Bay OF Avisail Garcia, who was rested Tuesday after knocking in three runs in the series opener, is 11-for 27 during a seven-game hitting streak.
3. Diamondbacks RF Adam Jones, who made a leaping catch against the wall Tuesday, needs three RBIs to reach 900 in his career.