Rays at Mariners
The Tampa Bay Rays are trying to protect their half-game lead over Oakland for the final American League wild-card spot and have an excellent chance to do so as they play 21 straight games against losing teams. Tampa Bay begins a six-game road trip with three against the Seattle Mariners beginning Friday and hopes to improve on its sparkling 35-22 record away from home.
“Not good enough,’’ Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Wednesday after his club lost two of three to Toronto, leaving it 3-2 in its stretch against sub-.500 teams. “We’ve got to do better than that. Where we’re at right now, the teams we are going up against, we’ve got to find ways to win.’’ This weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for Tampa Bay catcher Mike Zunino, who has struggled this season (.175 batting average, seven home runs, 23 RBIs) after hitting .226 with 45 homers and 108 RBIs combined in 2017-18, but went deep in Wednesday's 4-3 loss. “Hopefully it’s a sign of some stuff coming," Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. “Hopefully he’s excited to get back to Seattle, see some former teammates and an environment he’s played a lot of baseball in and can do some damage up there." Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over San Diego on Wednesday as third baseman Kyle Seager homered for the second time in three games, giving him five blasts, 10 RBIs, eight runs scored and a .340 average in his last 14 contests.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), ROOT Northwest (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Jalen Beeks (5-1, 3.77 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Marco Gonzales (12-9, 4.32)
Beeks allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits over four innings of relief in Tampa Bay's 8-6 victory over Miami on Saturday. The 26-year-old Arkansas native makes his 24th appearance this season but only his second start with his first going poorly as he yielded eight runs in 3 2/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to Boston on July 22. Beeks, who has a 1.35 WHIP, has never faced Seattle or anyone on its active roster.
Gonzales permitted four runs and eight hits over five innings while Seattle was being no-hit at Houston in an 8-0 loss Saturday. The 27-year-old Colorado native, who needs one win to match his career high set last season, is 7-3 with a 3.61 ERA in his last 10 starts. Tampa Bay's Jesus Aguilar is 3-for-5 with a home run versus Gonzales, who is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts against the Rays - both in 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay OF Austin Meadows (team-high 19 home runs) went 5-for-9 with a two-run blast and double in his last two games.
2. The Mariners own the third-worst ERA in baseball at 5.21 and have allowed the second-most home runs (200).
3. The Rays haven't won in Seattle since 2015, losing nine straight, while the Mariners have won five straight season series and 11 of 13 meetings over the last two years.