Rays at Astros
The much-anticipated pitching duel did not materialize in the series opener, but two more red-hot hurlers will step on the mound when the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole has not lost since May 22 and Tampa Bay lefty Ryan Yarbrough is unbeaten in his last 12 trips to the mound as they prepare to meet in the second of a three-game set.
Justin Verlander was ejected after 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the Astros pounded fellow American League Cy Young candidate Charlie Morton for a season-high six runs on seven hits in a 15-1 victory Tuesday that extended their winning streak to five. Rookie slugger Yordan Alvarez launched a pair of homers and Michael Brantley pushed his hitting streak to 19 games (34-for-75, 10 doubles, 17 RBIs) with a single in the series opener for AL West-leading Houston. The Rays have lost three straight and are 5-7 in their last 12 contests to drop one game behind Oakland for the AL’s second wild card - 1 1/2 back of Cleveland for the top spot. Joey Wendle produced the only run for Tampa Bay with a solo homer - his first of the season - while teammate Tommy Pham had a double and a single to extend his hitting streak to five games, in which he is 8-for-19.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Ryan Yarbrough (11-3, 3.29 ERA) vs. Astros RH Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.75)
Yarbrough is unbeaten since June 13 and is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in four games this month while striking out 28 and allowed just one walk. The 27-year-old Old Dominion University product gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks over 4 1/3 innings last Thursday before his outing ended due to a rain delay after just 68 pitches. Jake Marisnick is 2-for-2 with a solo homer versus Yarbrough, who took the loss despite 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball against Houston last year.
Cole has pushed himself into the middle of the Cy Young discussion with wins in six straight starts and 11 consecutive decisions after tossing seven scoreless frames against Detroit on Thursday. The 28-year-old UCLA product boasts a 1.35 ERA in August and is limiting opponents to a .195 batting average with 238 strikeouts across 163 2/3 innings overall. Travis d’Arnaud is 4-for-4 with a homer against Cole, who gave up four runs (one earned) over six innings in a loss at Tampa Bay on March 29.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston SS Alex Bregman extended his on-base streak to 20 contests Tuesday and is 10-for-21 during a five-game hitting streak.
2. Tampa Bay SS Willy Adames had two hits in the series opener and is batting .311 on the road as opposed to .186 at home.
3. Astros 2B Jose Altuve is batting .352 with 14 homers and 35 RBIs in 42 games since the All-Star break.