Rays at Rangers
The Tampa Bay Rays need a big performance from Chris Archer when they visit the Texas Rangers on Wednesday for the rubber match of their three-game series. The Rays have been forced to go to the bullpen heavily over the last three days and could use a lengthy effort from Archer, who needs four strikeouts to pass David Price (54, June 2014) for the most during one month in franchise history.
Tampa Bay went 15 innings on Sunday in Minnesota and sent six pitchers to the mound in each of the first two games of this series after coughing up a three-run lead in Tuesday’s 9-5 setback. Elvis Andrus has hit safely in six straight contests for the Rangers and was the hero in the second game of the series, belting a tying three-run homer and knocking in a career-high five runs. Shin-Soo Choo also has been a problem for the Rays in the series, launching a pair of homers, knocking in five runs and scoring four times after going 5-for-27 in his previous seven games. Adrian Beltre, who is just 1-for-14 lifetime against Archer, has recorded a pair of hits in his first two games of the season after suffering through a calf injury for most of the first two months.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Chris Archer (4-3, 3.61 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Austin Bibens-Dirkx (0-0, 3.97)
Archer defeated Minnesota last time out, allowing two runs and five hits over 7 2/3 innings while striking out 11 - reaching that total for the fourth time in his last five outings. The 28-year-old native of North Carolina has recorded seven quality starts and permitted two or fewer runs six times in his first 11 turns of the season. Andrus is 5-for-12 with a double versus Archer, who is 1-2 with a 5.34 ERA in six career starts against Texas.
Bibens-Dirkx is slated to make his first major-league start after four relief appearances this season in which he permitted five runs and eight hits over 11 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old Oregonian was a 16th-round draft pick of Seattle in 2006 and has spent 12 campaigns in the minor leagues, compiling 1,040 1/3 frames. Bibens-Dirkx is 0-2 with a 3.04 ERA in six outings (three starts) with Triple-A Round Rock this year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay OF-DH Corey Dickerson is 9-for-17 in his last three games and is tied with Carl Crawford for the most hits in one month of May in franchise history (43).
2. Rangers 1B-DH Mike Napoli (back), who is 1-for-19 lifetime against Archer, has missed the last two games and is day-to-day.
3. The Rays placed OF Peter Bourjos (elbow) on the 10-day disabled list and optioned RHP Jose De Leon to Triple-A while recalling RHPs Chih-Wei Hu from Durham and Hunter Wood from Double-A Montgomery.