Rays at Rangers
The Tampa Bay Rays are riding plenty of momentum as they embark on a critical eight-game road trip that begins with the first of three games against the improving Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. The Rays finished off a 9-1 homestand with an 8-3 victory over Toronto on Sunday and have won 10 of 11 to hold down the top wild-card spot in the American League with 17 games left on their schedule.
Austin Meadows has led the way of late with an eight-game hitting streak (15-for-28, four homers, nine RBIs) and teammate Tommy Pham has also hit safely in eight straight contests (13-for-31, five RBIs) for Tampa Bay, which also heads to Los Angeles to play the Angels and the Dodgers on the trip. Ryan Yarbrough looks to continue his strong work on the mound when he gets the ball in the series opener for the Rays and Texas turns to veteran Lance Lynn, who tries to push his win total to 15 for the first time since 2014 when he was with St. Louis. The Rangers have already won five more games than they did last year (67-95) after sweeping a four-game series at Baltimore over the weekend while scoring a total of 29 runs. Second baseman Rougned Odor is 7-for-13 with a pair of homers along with four RBIs over his last three games for Texas and was 3-for-5 with two extra-base hits in the series at Tampa Bay in late June when the Rays took two of three.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Ryan Yarbrough (11-3, 3.49 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Lance Lynn (14-10, 3.81)
Yarbrough has not suffered a loss since June 13 and finished with a 1.50 ERA in August before allowing four runs on nine hits over six innings in a no-decision against Baltimore on Sept. 2. The 27-year-old Old Dominion University product has given up two or fewer runs in 10 of his last 14 outings, but owns just one victory in his last six starts. Yarbrough yielded three runs on four hits over four innings in a relief stint against Texas last year to get the win.
Lynn is winless in his last six starts despite permitting three runs or fewer in five of those outings and striking out 39 across 33 2/3 innings. The 32-year-old Ole Miss product has struggled with control during his winless stretch while walking 18, and served up a pair of homers in a loss to the New York Yankees last Wednesday. Eric Sogard is 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs against Lynn, who beat Tampa Bay with eight scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts June 28.
WALK-OFFS
1. Texas 1B Ronald Guzman homered in Sunday’s 10-4 win and is 7-for-16 during his current four-game hitting streak.
2. Tampa Bay RHP Nick Anderson has allowed one run on six hits over 14 innings with 27 strikeouts and no walks since being acquired from Miami.
3. Rangers 2B-3B Nick Solak, acquired from the Rays earlier this season, had four RBIs Sunday and is batting .328 in 19 major league games.