Rays at Orioles
Logan Morrison was re-signed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract in early February by the Tampa Bay Rays and it may end up being one of the best bargains in the offseason. The 29-year-old first baseman will attempt to add to his career-high home run total of 24 on Sunday as the visiting Rays go for a three-game sweep of the American League East-rival Baltimore Orioles.
Morrison passed his previous high of 23 blasts with the Florida Marlins in 2011 on Saturday when he went deep twice in Tampa Bay’s 10-3 rout of the Orioles, and has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games to raise his average from .240 to .256. Surging Alex Cobb tries to complete the sweep for the Rays and Baltimore hopes to salvage the series finale as it sends fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman to the mound. Jonathan Schoop provided most of the offense for the Orioles on Saturday with a two-run homer and has recorded multiple hits in seven of his last 11 contests. Baltimore has surrendered 16 runs in the first two games of the series after winning four of its previous five contests to climb back to .500.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Alex Cobb (6-5, 3.73 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (4-7, 6.07)
Cobb took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Pittsburgh on Tuesday but settled for a no-decision after allowing two hits over eight scoreless innings. The 29-year-old Boston native is 2-0 over his last four starts, yielding five earned runs over 27 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and six walks in that span. Manny Machado (2-for-17, one homer) has struggled against Cobb, who is 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in nine career games versus Baltimore.
Gausman snapped a three-start losing streak by limiting Toronto to four hits in 5 1/3 scoreless frames on Tuesday with four strikeouts. The 26-year-old LSU product permitted 15 runs on 23 hits over 14 2/3 innings during the losing streak and finished with a 6.41 ERA in June. Trevor Plouffe is 4-for-9 with two doubles and a homer versus Gausman, who is 3-4 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts) against the Rays.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay RF Steven Souza Jr. is 5-for-9 with four runs scored, two homers and four RBIs in the first two games of the series.
2. Baltimore CF Adam Jones, who is one RBI behind Ken Singleton (766) for fifth on the franchise’s all-time list, is 5-for-28 with eight strikeouts in his last seven games.
3. The Rays snapped a six-series winless streak (0-5-1) against the Orioles on Saturday and can post their first three-game road sweep of the season one day later.