Rays at Red Sox (Game 1)
The Boston Red Sox looked great this week while playing against one of the worst teams in baseball, but the Tampa Bay Rays are posing more of a challenge. The Red Sox will try to get a pair of games back against an American League East rival when they host the Rays in a day-night doubleheader on Saturday.
Boston, which is making up a rainout from last month in the nightcap, dropped two of three at AL East-leading New York last weekend before picking itself back up with a sweep of the Kansas City Royals, but fell right off the pace again with a 5-1 loss to the Rays in the opener of the four-game series on Friday. The defending World Series champion Red Sox trail the Yankees by 6 1/2 games and sit six behind the Rays in the East and fell to 4-7 this season against their two main competitors with Friday's setback. Tampa Bay owns the major's best pitching staff and got eight scoreless innings from Yonny Chirinos to begin the series, limiting Boston to four hits while holding red-hot Rafael Devers to 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The Rays, who yielded a total of two runs during their three-game winning streak, will dig deep into their bag of pitching options for the doubleheader and figure to let Ryan Yarbrough take the bulk of the innings against righty Josh Smith in the opener while spreading out the relievers in a bullpen game versus Boston's David Price in the nightcap.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Ryan Yarbrough (4-2, 6.23 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Josh Smith (0-1, 4.91)
Yarbrough could come in behind an opener but is likely to get the bulk of the innings and went seven or more frames in two of his last three outings. The 27-year-old was knocked around for seven runs and 10 hits in seven innings against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday to suffer a loss - his first since April 6. Yarbrough was reached for three runs in as many innings at home against Boston while pitching in relief on April 19.
Smith will be the 26th man for the doubleheader and will make his fifth appearance - second start - for Boston this season. The 31-year-old lasted 3 1/3 innings while allowing four runs on five hits and a pair of walks in a start at Baltimore on May 6 but was not scored upon in his three relief appearances, totaling four innings. Smith is 2-2 with a 5.23 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Pawtucket.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez (back spasms) was held out of the lineup on Friday and is day-to-day.
2. Tampa Bay CF Kevin Kiermaier homered and drover in four runs in the opener.
3. Boston 1B Mitch Moreland (back) came off the 10-day IL on Friday but left after six innings due to quad tightness.