S T. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wednesday was a matinee for the Tampa Bay Rays, who look to take a three-game series against Detroit in a game at 1:10 pm ET at Tropicana Field.
Drew Rasmussen, who has been terrific in his last four starts, gets the ball for Tampa Bay.
He is 3-1 on the season with a 2.67 ERA, but the Rays have won six of his seven starts. In the last four starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA. He had a combined 17 strikeouts in the first three games, and he only had one on Friday against Toronto, but he had a lot of soft contact and allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings. He left with the score tied, but the Rays won 5-2.
It has been so good.
“I think I did a pretty good job of staying out of the way,” Rasmussen said of the win against the Blue Jays. “I had to rely on defense a lot, but they helped me. Strikeouts are a selfish thing. It’s always good to strike out people, but the ultimate goal is to give our team a chance to win. I’ve been doing that, and I feel good about it.”
The teams have split the first two games of the series. The Rays bye Thursday and then travel to Baltimore for a three-game series with the Orioles this weekend.
Scroll to Continue
Here’s how to watch Wednesday night’s game, complete with game time and TV info, starting line-ups, bios and of course our daily big dose of news nuggets.
How to watch the Tigers on the Rays
- Whose: Detroit Tigers (13-24) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (22-15)
- When: 1:10 p.m. ET, Wednesday, May 18
- Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida.
- TELEVISION: Bally Sports Sun
- Stream: fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary), and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 176
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Last line: Tampa Bay is favored with minus-188 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line starting Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers are plus-155. The plus/minus is 6.5.
History of the Tiger-Rays
- History of the all-time series of Tigers vs. rays: This has been a very even series over the years, with the Tigers leading 83-81 since that first game in 1998. The Rays have the edge at Tropicana Field, with a 44-40 record. Detroit won the season series 4-3 last year, splitting all four games in St. Petersburg, and the series is tied 1-1 this season. The two teams play four games in Detroit from August 4-7.
Latest Tigers-Rays Games
- Rays 8, Tigers 1: Tampa Bay outfielders Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips and Randy Arozarena homered and Shane McClanahan was special on the mound once again in the Rays’ 8-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. The outfielders went a combined 5-for-10 with six RBIs. For the full story, CLICK HERE
Projected starting pitchers
- Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez: Eduardo Rodríguez is in his first year with Detroit after six years with the Boston Red Sox. He has made seven starts so far this season, going 1-2 with a 3.72 earned run average. He has been very good lately. In his last two starts, he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings last Friday at Baltimore and allowed just one run a week earlier against Houston.
- Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen: Drew Rasmussen has been very good lately. The right-hander is 3-0 in his last four starts, allowing just three earned runs in 21 2/3 innings, a 1.25 ERA. For the season, he is 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA.
Projected lineups
- Tigers lineup: Robbie Grossman RF, Willi Castro LF, Javier Baez SS, Jeimer Candelario DH, Jonathan Schoop 2B, Harold Castro 3B, Spencer Torkelson 1B, Tucker Barnhardt C, Derek Hill CF, Eduardo Rodriguez P.
- Ray Alignment: Yandy Diaz 1B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Francisco Mejia C, Isaac Paredes 3B, Vidal Brujan RF, Taylor Walls 2B, Brett Phillips CF, Drew Rasmussen P.
news nuggets
- 1. Sanders sent to Durham: Rays reinstate right-handed reliever phoenix sanders (lumbar spasms) from the 15-day disabled list and was optioned to Triple-A Durham. Sanders, who made five appearances for the Rays and allowed just two earned runs in 10 innings, hurt his back on a quick throw to first during a game at Oakland on May 2.
- 2. Success in the rubber game: The Rays are 4-1 in decisive games this season, with wins over the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays are 6-2 in their last eight series and, at 22-15, are seven games over .500. They’ve been in eight games over .500 once this season, and they can tie that mark again on Wednesday with a win.
- 3. The defense rests: Now that the Rays have won a game in this series, a streak of more than two years continues. Tampa Bay has not been swept at home, regardless of the length of the series, from April 19-21, 2019 against the Boston Red Sox. It’s the longest active streak in the majors.
- 4. Outfielder’s Home Run Flurry: Tuesday night against Detroit, Tampa Bay outfielders Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier and Brett Phillips homered. It was the fifth time in club history that all three starting outfielders homered at the same time. It has happened four times in the last five after only happening once in the first 20 years of franchise history.
Drew Rasmussen Photo Gallery
drew rasmussen
Reference-www.si.com