Rays at Yankees
Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will try to help the Tampa Bay Rays salvage the finale of a key three-game series when they visit the New York Yankees on Wednesday afternoon. The Rays managed just two hits in losing the series opener and held a one-run lead through 4 1/2 innings before suffering a 6-3 setback on Tuesday, falling for the sixth time in eight games overall.
Mike Zunino and Avisail Garcia recorded RBI singles to give the Rays a 2-1 lead before the bullpen imploded on Tuesday as Tampa Bay dropped 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East and to 23-12 on the road. Snell has been dominant at times in 2019 but will be coming off one of his worst performances of the season when he squares off on Wednesday against CC Sabathia, who is 17-16 with a 3.63 ERA in 50 career starts against the Rays. Cameron Maybin homered for the fourth straight contest and Edwin Encarnacion went deep in his second game since being acquired from Seattle for New York, which has won four in a row after losing three straight. Maybin is 9-for-16 with four RBIs over his last four contests while Luke Voit collected three hits in Tuesday’s win and is 8-for-16 in his last five contests.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Blake Snell (4-5, 3.70 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (3-4, 4.42)
Snell failed to complete four innings for the third time this season on Friday, when he allowed four runs - three earned - on five hits and four walks over 3 1/3 frames against the Los Angeles Angels. The 26-year-old native of Washington had given up fewer than three runs in six of his previous seven starts and has registered 101 strikeouts over 75 1/3 innings. Gary Sanchez is 4-for-14 with three homers versus Snell, who is 0-1 with a 2.31 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this year.
Sabathia has lost three straight starts after permitting six runs - five earned - on 10 hits and three walks across 4 2/3 innings last time out. The 38-year-old Californian, who is one victory from 250 for his career, has surrendered three runs over 11 innings in two starts against the Rays this year without a decision. Zunino is 5-for-11 with a homer and Kevin Kiermaier is 5-for-16 with two blasts versus Sabathia, who has posted a 2.33 ERA at home as opposed to a 6.30 mark on the road this year.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Yankees have homered in 21 straight contests, four shy of the franchise record set in 1941.
2. Tampa Bay INF Yandy Diaz, who has gone 10-for-20 in his last five games, sat out Tuesday due to hamstring tightness.
3. New York INF DJ LeMahieu has gone 29-for-63 with 35 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.