Orioles at Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays hope to settle things down after a tumultuous day and change their fortunes at home when they host the Baltimore Orioles for the middle contest of a three-game set Saturday. The Rays traded veteran outfielder Denard Span and closer Alex Colome on Friday before going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position to drop a 2-0 decision - their sixth loss in the last seven at home.
Span was tied for the team lead with 28 RBIs and Colome had 11 saves before being shipped to Seattle along with cash for promising minor league right-handed pitchers Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero. Tampa Bay is 1-4 since running off six wins in a row and will start reliever Ryne Stanek in Saturday’s contest while Baltimore counters with fellow right-hander Andrew Cashner, who recorded both of his victories on the road this year. The Orioles have won two straight games for the first time since running off four consecutive victories May 9-12 and are 4-1 in the last five against the Rays. Jonathan Schoop had a pair of hits Friday, including a solo homer, and is 7-for-21 during a five-game hitting streak for Baltimore.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore) vs. FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Andrew Cashner (2-5, 4.72 ERA) vs. Rays RH Ryne Stanek (0-0, 5.40)
Cashner has struggled to go deep into games due, in part, to control issues as he has walked 27 in 55 1/3 innings while holding opponents to three or fewer earned runs in seven of 10 starts. The 31-year-old TCU product broke a seven-game winless streak last time out against the Chicago White Sox, yielding two runs on eight hits and three walks across five innings. Brad Miller is 2-for-4 with an RBI versus Cashner, who won his only outing against the Rays in his career.
Stanek, a first-round pick in 2013, made 41 starts in 119 appearances in the minor leagues but has been strictly a reliever the last two seasons. The 26-year-old Kansas native has given up three runs on four hits (two homers) over five innings with eight strikeouts in six trips to the mound for the Rays in 2018. Manny Machado is 1-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs against Stanek, who has allowed one run and two hits with six strikeouts in four innings versus Baltimore.
WALK-OFFS
1. Baltimore OF-DH Mark Trumbo (knee) missed the last two games, but the Orioles are holding off on a decision whether to place him on the 10-day disabled list.
2. The Rays activated INF Joey Wendle from the paternity list Friday and optioned SS Willy Adames to Triple-A Durham.
3. Orioles 1B Chris Davis has 29 career homers in 114 career games versus Tampa Bay, but none this season and just one in 2017.