White Sox at Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays look to shake off a rough end to their series at Yankee Stadium when they start a six-game homestand with the first of three contests against the slumping Chicago White Sox on Friday night. The Rays won the opener of the series at New York in dramatic fashion on Monday before dropping the final three games by a combined score of 19-6, capped by losing both ends of a doubleheader Thursday.
Austin Meadows homered in the first game of the twinbill and has hit safely in nine straight contests (10-for-32) for Tampa Bay while teammate Nate Lowe is 11-for-23 with three homers and eight RBIs over his last six outings after recording three hits in the nightcap. Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters after Thursday’s doubleheader that “most likely” rookie left-hander Brendan McKay would get the start in the series opener, while righty Reynaldo Lopez will try to match his last performance when he takes the mound for Chicago. The White Sox have lost all seven contests since the All-Star break, getting outscored 50-17 in the process, and dropped to a season-high nine games under .500 after coughing up a three-run lead in Thursday’s 6-5 setback at Kansas City. Jose Abreu is 6-for-18 during a four-game hitting streak and Ryan Cordell has hit safely in six contests in a row (7-for-19) for Chicago, which was swept by the Rays in April but won all three matchups at Tampa Bay last August.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Reynaldo Lopez (4-8, 5.97 ERA) vs. Rays LH Brendan McKay (1-0, 1.69)
Lopez produced one of his better 2019 performances in his first start after the All-Star Game, allowing one unearned run over six innings at Oakland last Sunday in a no-decision. The 25-year-old Dominican is winless in his last five trips to the mound, giving up 18 runs (17 earned) across 22 2/3 innings in the last four outings before the break. Tommy Pham is 2-for-3 with two homers versus Lopez, who yielded eight runs over 4 1/3 innings in a loss to Tampa Bay on April 10.
McKay is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Durham to make his fourth major-league start Friday after allowing three runs on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts and one walk over 16 total innings in the first three. The University of Louisville product earned a no-decision in his last start at Baltimore on Saturday, giving up just three hits over five scoreless innings. The fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft is 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) in the minors this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago 3B Yoan Moncada had three hits, including a solo homer Thursday, after going 1-for-18 in his previous five games.
2. Tampa Bay 1B-3B Yandy Diaz boasts multiple hits in five of his last eight contests and has homered three times in that stretch.
3. The White Sox optioned OF Charlie Tilson to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday and is expected to make a corresponding move Friday.