New York @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 5, NY Yankees 9
It’s an American League East showdown this weekend, with the ongoing Alex Rodriguez drama acting as a backdrop.
Rodriguez and the New York Yankees will be trying to maintain their hold on first place in the AL East when they open up a three-game series at the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
The Rays are two games back of the Yankees, meaning a sweep this weekend would put the club back into the top spot in the division for the first time since June 19. Winners of six straight, Tampa Bay owns the longest current winning streak in the American League and seem to have its pitching staff in high form, allowing a little more than two runs per game during the streak.
One of those pitching performances was a no-hitter by Matt Garza on Monday, and it was David Price making history on Thursday, tying the Rays’ franchise record with his 14th win of the season. Carlos Pena came out in support of Price with a homer and four RBIs.
Going up against that strong pitching staff this weekend will be Rodriguez, who has been stuck on 599 career home runs for the last eight days and has gone 34 plate appearances without a blast. The All-Star slugger is poised to become the youngest player in history to reach 600 but has just two extra-base hits in the last seven games and appears to be pressing.
Rodriguez singled in a pair of runs and added a sacrifice fly in Thursday’s 11-4 romp of the Cleveland Indians.
The rest of New York’s hitters haven’t had much trouble of late, posting seven or more runs in six of the last nine games. Curtis Granderson has been a big part of that onslaught, collecting multiple hits in four of the last five games while driving in six runs during that span.
Attempting to slow the Yankees offense and keep Rodriguez out of the history books for one more day will be rookie Wade Davis (8-9). The 24-year-old right-hander has won each of his last three starts, allowing five runs in 21 1/3 total innings. The surge comes after a stretch of six outings in which Davis went 0-5 with a 6.32 ERA.
Daivs won his last start against New York, allowing two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings back on May 19.
The Yankees will counter with 24-year-old right-hander Phil Hughes (12-3). The young All-Star has shown some inconsistency of late but pitched well enough to earn a win in his last outing, allowing three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Hughes has made seven appearances – two starts – against the Rays in his career, surrendering seven earned runs in 15 total frames.