Rays at Astros
The Tampa Bay Rays are taking advantage of the injury-plagued Houston Astros this week and look to clinch a series victory when they visit Thursday night for the finale of the four-game set. Logan Morrison homered for the second straight night and four pitchers held the high-powered Astros in check for a 3-0 victory Wednesday that gave the Rays three wins in their last four outings.
Morrison went 2-for-26 in his last nine games of July and has knocked in four runs in the first two of August for Tampa Bay, which trails Kansas City by a half-game for the second wild-card spot in the American League. Winless left-hander Blake Snell takes the ball for the Rays in the finale against righty Collin McHugh, who makes his third start of the season and tries to beat Tampa Bay for the first time. Houston leads the AL with 69 victories, but is just 2-5 over its last seven games with standouts George Springer and Carlos Correa on the disabled list and a pitching staff that has struggled a bit. AL Player of the Month for July Jose Altuve is 0-for-8 in his last two games for the Astros while teammate Josh Reddick has hit safely in eight in a row.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Blake Snell (0-6, 4.87 ERA) vs. Astros RH Collin McHugh (0-0, 4.22)
Snell has pitched better since returning from a stint in the minor leagues, allowing nine runs over 21 1/3 innings, but is still looking for his first victory since notching six as a rookie in 2016. The 24-year-old has walked 40 in 68 1/3 innings and the Rays emerged with a victory in just three of his 13 starts this year. Evan Gattis is 3-for-3 with a homer versus Snell, who yielded three runs over five innings in a no-decision against Houston on April 22.
McHugh recorded a quality start in his second appearance of the season Saturday at Detroit when he permitted one run on four hits with seven strikeouts over six innings of a no-decision. The 30-year-old Indiana native gave up four runs on four hits (two homers) over 4 2/3 innings in his 2017 debut July 22 at Baltimore. Morrison is 4-for-13 with three walks, four homers and seven RBIs versus McHugh, who is 0-4 with a 2.52 ERA in four games against the Rays.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston 1B Yuli Gurriel, who was named AL Rookie of the Month for July, is 10-for-33 against the Rays in 2017.
2. Morrison has belted a major-league high 20 of his team-high and career-best 28 homers on the road this season.
3. Altuve boasts 42 multiple-hit games this season and 21 where he has not registered one.