Rays at Orioles
Joey Rickard hasn't had much of a chance to play consistently this season with the Baltimore Orioles or done much with his opportunities when he has received them, except for when he faces the Tampa Bay Rays. The Las Vegas native hopes to haunt the Rays one more time Sunday when the host Orioles attempt to capture a rare series victory in the finale of their four-game set.
Rickard entered the weekend batting .193 with five home runs and 10 RBIs in 109 at-bats spanning 41 games. After not playing in Thursday's 4-3 series-opening loss, the 27-year-old has been a major catalyst in Baltimore's offensive resurgence over the last two days, going 4-for-8 with a homer, three doubles, four runs scored and eight RBIs. Rickard was a one-man wrecking crew for the Orioles (31-74) in Saturday's 11-2 rout, finishing 3-for-4 with five RBIs - tying the career high he set May 13 against the Rays - as the bottom third of the lineup went 10-for-12 with nine RBIs and seven runs scored. Kevin Kiermaier's solo shot in the third inning was one of the few bright spots in the loss for Tampa Bay, which has been outscored by the team with the worst record in the majors 79-59 despite splitting their 12 meetings this season.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), MASN 2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Yonny Chirinos (0-2, 3.78 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Dylan Bundy (6-9, 4.57)
Chirinos recorded the first quality start of his brief seven-game career Tuesday versus the New York Yankees but was saddled with the loss despite yielding three runs over 6 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old Venezuelan has limited the opposition to three runs or fewer in five of his six turns, although his last outing was the first time he completed six frames. Chirinos has yet to give up a home run in 54 at-bats against right-handed hitters entering his first start against Baltimore.
Bundy has given up five earned runs in each of his three official July starts after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.98 ERA in June, going 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA this month while allowing 19 hits and issuing six walks across 12 1/3 innings. The native Oklahoman surrendered another five runs in fewer than two frames against Boston on Wednesday before the game was postponed. Bundy has split a pair of starts against Tampa Bay this season, winning his most recent one May 13 when he held the Rays scoreless over seven innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rickard is 8-for-19 with three homers and 13 RBIs in six games versus the Rays this season and 17-for-98 with three home runs and five RBIs against every other team.
2. Tampa Bay has surrendered at least 11 runs seven times this season, three of which have come against Baltimore. The Orioles also scored a season-high 17 runs on May 13 and 15 on Friday.
3. Baltimore 2B Jonathan Schoop's five-game homer streak ended Saturday, but he went 1-for-5 and is batting .360 during an 11-game hitting streak.