Angels at Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays hope to ride the momentum from an inspiring comeback victory when they host the Los Angeles Angels for the third of a four-game series Saturday afternoon. The Rays had lost three in a row and trailed 4-0 through 5 1/2 frames Friday before scoring nine times combined in the sixth and seventh innings en route to a 9-4 win while going 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
“Resilient,” Tampa Bay left fielder Tommy Pham, who is 8-for-18 with five RBIs the last four games, told Fox Sports Sun after the victory. “Wins like this can carry us for quite a few more wins. We’ll see where it takes us.” Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton looks to remain unbeaten and notch his ninth victory of the season when he takes the mound Saturday against Los Angeles rookie left-hander Jose Suarez, who has split his first two major-league starts. The Angels saw their three-game winning streak come to an end despite Shohei Ohtani following up his cycle Thursday with a hit and an RBI in his first two at-bats in Friday’s setback. Former American League MVP Mike Trout is just 2-for-16 in his last five games after recording a hit and scoring a run Friday for Los Angeles, but he leads the majors in on-base percentage (.459) with 18 homers overall.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS West (Los Angeles), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Jose Suarez (1-1, 4.35 ERA) vs. Rays RH Charlie Morton (8-0, 2.10)
Suarez suffered the loss in his second major-league start Sunday when he allowed two runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings against Seattle with six strikeouts and two walks. The 21-year-old Venezuelan won his debut on June 2 in Seattle, yielding three runs on five hits across 5 2/3 innings in a 13-3 triumph on the road. Suarez was 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA in five games (four starts) with Triple-A Salt Lake before being recalled.
Morton is making an argument to start in the All-Star Game next month while stringing together wins in four straight outings. The 35-year-old New Jersey native has won 11 straight decisions dating back to last season and has not permitted a run in 14 innings this month with 15 strikeouts and a pair of walks. Justin Bour is 3-for-6 with two doubles versus Morton, who is 3-0 with a 4.01 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels.
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles 1B/DH Albert Pujols knocked in a run Friday but remained stuck on 1,799 runs in his career.
2. Tampa Bay 1B/DH Ji-Man Choi homered in Friday’s comeback and is 14-for-29 in his last 10 contests.
3. Angels SS Wilfredo Tovar was 2-for-3 on Friday for his first multiple-hit game since 2013 with the New York Mets.