Indians at Rays
After a slow start out of the blocks, the Tampa Bay Rays hope their late power display in the series opener extends to Wednesday's clash against the visiting Cleveland Indians. Evan Longoria and Logan Forsythe each belted a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 5-1 victory, marking just the second time in seven games this season that the Rays have eclipsed four runs in a contest.
Tampa Bay has gone deep in a franchise-best 21 consecutive games and will face a pitcher in right-hander Carlos Carrasco that surrendered three homers in his first outing of the season. Longoria has gone deep in two of three contests and hit safely hit safely in six of seven games this season, but is a woeful 2-for-16 (.125) with five strikeouts in his career versus Carrasco. Francisco Lindor's solo homer in the fourth inning on Tuesday was all that was mustered by Cleveland, which has scored just four runs on 12 hits in its last two contests after erupting for 14 runs and 18 hits in its previous two. The Indians would be wise to get the early jump on left-hander Drew Smyly as Tampa Bay's starters have limped to an 0-4 mark with a 4.91 ERA this season.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), SUN (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Rays LH Drew Smyly (0-1, 6.75)
After serving up just 18 homers in 30 starts last season, Carrasco was victimized by the longball in five innings on Wednesday en route to a no-decision versus Boston. The 29-year-old Venezuelan turned in a significantly better performance in his last encounter with Tampa Bay on July 1, as he was one strike away from a no-hitter before settling for a one-hit gem with 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. The win improved Carrasco to 2-3 with a 1.04 WHIP versus the Rays, who have batted just .217 against him in six career appearances.
Like Carrasco, Smyly was also taken deep on three occasions in his season opener on April 4, but the latter's team was unable to overcome the damage and suffered a 5-3 setback to Toronto. The 26-year-old looks to find his groove versus Cleveland, against which he allowed a solo homer among his four hits over seven solid innings in a 5-1 win on July 20, 2014. Yan Gomes is 4-for-10 with three RBIs in his last three games and is 4-for-8 with a pair of homers in his career versus Smyly.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland has seen several veterans struggle out of the gate, including OFs Marlon Byrd (2-for-13, .154) and Rajai Davis (2-for-17, .118) as well as 3B Juan Uribe (1-for-17, .059)
2. Tampa Bay has held the lead after just eight of the 63 innings it has played this season.
3. After seeing his scheduled start postponed by inclement weather, Indians RHP Josh Tomlin tossed a simulated game on Tuesday and is line to make his season debut versus the New York Mets on Saturday.