Tampa Bay @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 8
The Tampa Bay Rays look to get back on track Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles after taking a nasty beating on Saturday.
Baltimore’s normally lifeless offense pounded out 15 hits against Tampa Bay to push the O’s to an 8-4 victory. Seven different Orioles had at least two hits, including Luke Scott, who also added his team-leading 63rd RBI of the season, and Nick Markakis, who hit his ninth home run.
With the loss, the Rays fell to 2 ½ games back of the American League East-leading New York Yankees.
However, the Rays (83-52) will have rookie Wade Davis (11-9, 4.29 ERA) looking for his seventh straight victory in today’s game.
Davis is 6-0 with a 3.23 ERA in his last seven starts and had only one tough outing over that stretch, allowing six runs on 10 hits over six innings against the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 5. Otherwise, Davis hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any game during the streak.
He isn’t an overpowering pitcher even though he’s 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds. Since winning Tampa Bay’s No. 5 starter job out of spring training, he has struck out 85 while walking 51 in 134 1/3 innings.
So far Davis has had Baltimore’s number, going 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA against the Orioles (50-86). The last time he faced the O’s, he gave up one run over eight innings of work, helping Tampa Bay to an 8-1 win on July 19.
Davis will be up against a familiar foe in Baltimore’s Chris Tillman (1-4, 7.92 ERA). Tillman was on the wrong side of the July 19 game, allowing eight earned runs over 2 2/3 innings.
This will be a big chance for Tillman to redeem himself. The 6-foot-6 right-hander was sent to the minors following that game and this will be the 22-year-old’s first start since then. Tillman was 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk.
Tillman may have his hands full with the Tampa Bay offense again this time. Carl Crawford is 5-for-9 in the series and is hitting .396 with nine RBIs in the Rays’ 13 games against the Orioles this season.
Baltimore expects to be without center fielder Adam Jones again today. Jones, who is hitting .276 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs, has missed the last three games with soreness in his upper back.