Orioles at Rays (Game 1)
The Tampa Bay Rays are piling up the wins of late and have a great chance to pick up two more in a hurry before Hurricane Dorian hits Florida when they host the last-place Baltimore Orioles for a doubleheader Tuesday. The Rays won Monday's opener of the abbreviated three-game set with a 5-4 triumph in 10 innings, their fifth victory in a row.
Tommy Pham's third hit of the game drove in Joey Wendle with the game-winning run as Tampa Bay remained alone atop the wild-card race in the American League. The Rays will utilize Trevor Richards in the first game Tuesday while the Orioles hand the ball to struggling lefty Ty Blach. The pitching matchups for the second game will be determined by which hurlers gets utilized in the matinee. Hanser Alberto slugged a solo homer Monday for Baltimore, which saw veteran slugger Mark Trumbo contribute a two-run double in his season debut after missing more than a year with a knee injury.
TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH Ty Blach (0-2, 12.81 ERA) vs. Rays RH Trevor Richards (4-12, 4.29)
Blach is 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in three starts since being acquired from San Francisco. Included in the ugly stretch was an outing against Tampa Bay at home Aug. 23 when he was pounded for seven runs in four innings. The 28-year-old will be making his first career appearance at Tropicana Field.
Richards has a 2.31 ERA in three games (two starts) with the Rays after being traded from Miami at the deadline. He worked as the bulk reliever his Thursday and gave up one earned run in 2 1/3 innings at Houston, which came six days after the 26-year-old tossed six scoreless frames at Baltimore. Trumbo is 2-for-2 with a double against Richards while Jonathan Villar is 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Trumbo's hit Monday was his first since Aug. 19, 2018.
2. Rays RF Austin Meadows is batting .340 with four home runs and nine RBIs in 14 games against Baltimore this year.
3. Alberto has multiple hits in five of his last eight games.