Rays at Yankees
The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the lowest scoring teams in baseball, but they put up a season high in runs en route to posting their fourth win in five outings. The Rays look to continue their good fortune at the expense of a team struggling to find its offense on Friday as they open a three-game series against the host New York Yankees.
Evan Longoria homered in Tampa Bay's 12-8 victory over Boston on Thursday afternoon and has six hits, four RBIs and four runs scored in his last five games. The 30-year-old is 24-for-64 (.375) with six homers in his career versus Friday starter CC Sabathia while his 41 RBIs at the new Yankee Stadium are the most by a visiting player. While the Rays are ascending in the American League East, the Yankees have plummeted to the bottom after mustering just 18 runs en route to losing seven of their last eight contests. Veteran Mark Teixeira went 0-for-3 in Thursday's 7-3 sweep-clinching setback to Oakland to fall to 1-for-18 in his last six contests, but is 2-for-5 in a small sample size versus Friday starter Matt Moore.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Matt Moore (1-0, 2.95 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (1-1, 5.06)
Moore penned a brilliant performance in his last outing on Sunday, striking out 10 without walking a batter in 6 1/3 innings in a 3-2 victory over Cleveland. The 26-year-old has allowed just five hits in each contest this season and six runs total in 18 1/3 innings. Moore owns a 5-2 career mark versus New York, with a 3-1 record at Yankee Stadium.
Sabathia's 200th start with the Yankees wasn't a cause for celebration, as the southpaw labored through 4 2/3 innings to take the loss on Saturday against Seattle. The 35-year-old came undone in the fifth, with all three runs he allowed coming in the frame. Sabathia is no stranger to facing the Rays, has he's tangled with the division rival on 38 occasions (13-14, 3.73 ERA).
WALK-OFFS
1. New York CF Jacoby Ellsbury collected three hits on Thursday, eclipsing the sum total of his previous six contests (2-for-18).
2. Tampa Bay 2B Logan Forsythe is 7-for-15 with six runs scored during his four-game hitting streak.
3. Yankees C Brian McCann is 1-for-18 in his last six outings.