Game 99: Rays vs Texas Rangers — Pregame News and Notes
Updated 11:30 a.m. After a pair of 4–3 losses to the Texas Rangers, the Rays are in salvage mode on Sunday, looking to snap a three-game losing streak overall. Tampa Bay (51–47) has held leads in all three games.
The Rays were fortunate that Boston and New York lost yesterday on the West Coast, leaving the Rays still tied with New York for the wild card lead (a game in front of Minnesota and Kansas City) and 3.5 back of Boston in the AL East. Tampa Bay is trying to avoid being swept in a home series for the first time this season.
Jake Odorizzi starts for the Rays. Odorizzi allowed a run on just one hit over seven innings his last time out, and is hoping to put a difficult first half in the rear-view mirror:
Odorizzi is 4–0 with a 1.42 ERA lifetime against Texas. He has not faced the Rangers this year. The big concern for Odorizzi is the home-run ball, as he’s given up homers in 14 straight appearances (a franchise record) and Texas is second in the AL in homers (145). Here is the Rays’ lineup that will back Odorizzi:
Dickerson DH
Miller 2B
Longo 3B
Morrison 1B
Souza RF
Peterson LF
Hechavarria SS
Smith CF
Sucre C
The Rays are third in that category (143) and will face Tyson Ross (2–2 7.22). Ross has had three starts where he’s allowed at least four runs, and three more where he’s given up one or two. Ross allowed eight earned runs in 3.1 innings his last time out against Texas. Here is the Rangers’ lineup:
Choo RF
Andrus SS
Mazara LF
Beltre 3B
Napoli DH
Odor 2B
Gomez CF
Gallo 1B
Chirinos C
Tampa Bay did make an addition to the bullpen after yesterday’s defeat as veteran Sergio Romo was acquired from the Dodgers for cash considerations. The 34-year-old Romo had struggled this year and was designated for assignment on Thursday. Despite holding a 6.12 ERA, he had struck out 31 in 25 innings. His his career, Romo has been 33–27 with 84 saves and a 2.77 ERA over 545 career appearances. Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Erik Neander discussed what Romo can bring to the Rays with his experience in high leverage situations.
While the top three Rays relievers in Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger and Tommy Hunter have been consistent, adding depth has been considered a priority. Yesterday the Rays used Hunter trailing by a run in the eighth inning, something they’ve rarely done. Romo is expected to arrive in Tampa Bay today and be activated tomorrow. He has made just one appearance since June 30th. The Rays add an open 40-man spot, but will need to make a move on the 25-man when Romo arrives.
Here’s what happened last night in the Rays system:
Durham (60–39) defeated 9–1 by Phillies affiliate Lehigh Valley. Rickie Weeks went 0-for-5 in his latest rehab game.
Montgomery (16–13, 53–46) fell 7–4 to Pensacola. Jake Cronenworth had two hits and a run scored.
Charlotte (14–14, 45–51) — won 5–2 over Palm Beach. Peter Maris homered, and went 3-for-3 with two walks.
Bowling Green (18–11, 49–47) defeated Peoria 8–7 in 11 innings. Josh Lowe had a four-hit game, drove in two runs and stole two bases.
Hudson Valley (13–18) fell 2–0 at Yankees affiliate Staten Island. Top pick Brendan McKay went 1-for-4.
Princeton (13–17) won 8–7 in 10 over Kingsport. Kevin Santiago was a single shy of the cycle.
GCL (8–16) lost 2–1 to the Orioles. Carlos Vargas went 2-for-4 with a double.
Coverage of today’s Rays game begins at 11:30 a.m. with This Week in Rays Baseball. Hear from Matt Andriese, Logan Morrison and Jonny Venters among others. The pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m. and Dave and Andy will have the call with first pitch at 1:10.
