Rays at Pirates
Left-hander Blake Snell hopes restart his season after a strong stint in the minors when he returns to take the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday in the second of a three-game interleague series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates. Snell went 5-0 in seven starts with Triple-A Durham after struggling through eight outings (0-4) with the Rays to open 2017.
“(Snell) owned that he needed to go down, that he needed to reset a little bit. … (Durham pitching coach) Kyle (Snyder) and I have talked pretty routinely about his outings, and there’s been just a constant show of progress, and we’re excited to have him back up here,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay attempts to take the series after Tuesday’s 4-2, 10-inning victory in which slick-fielding shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria knocked in two runs in his debut with the team after being acquired from Miami for two minor-leaguers on Monday. The Pirates lost for the fourth time in six games after rallying with two runs in the ninth inning to tie it before making their third error of the contest in the 10th - leading to a pair of tallies. Andrew McCutchen knocked in both runs for Pittsburgh and is 5-for-12 in the last three games to raise his average to a season-high .272.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), ROOT Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Blake Snell (0-4, 4.71 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Ivan Nova (7-5, 3.06)
Snell posted a 2.66 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 15 walks over 44 innings with Durham as he tried to recapture his 2016 form when he won six major-league games. The 24-year-old Seattle native walked 25 in 42 innings with the Rays earlier this year and completed six frames just once in his eight appearances. Snell faces Pittsburgh for the first time, but is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA with 26 strikeouts in three interleague starts across 16 innings.
Nova lost for only the second time since early May Thursday when he allowed four runs and a season-high 11 hits on Thursday at Milwaukee. The 30-year-old Dominican Republic native has pitched at least six innings in all 15 outings with a pair of complete games and had four straight quality starts before the loss against the Brewers. Evan Longoria is 11-for-38 with three homers versus Nova, who is 8-7 with a 3.95 ERA in 18 appearances (16 starts) against the Rays.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pittsburgh RF Gregory Polanco reached on a walk Tuesday, but is 0-for-13 over his last four contests after posting multiple hits in four of his previous six outings.
2. Tampa Bay OF/DH Corey Dickerson became the second player in franchise history to record at least 100 hits (101) in the team’s first 81 games, joining Carl Crawford (2004, 2009).
3. Pirates LHP Antonio Bastardo (quad) was activated from the disabled list Tuesday, while C Jacob Stallings was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.