Baltimore @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2010 ) Baltimore 0, Tampa Bay 5
The Tampa Bay Rays are assured of two things for Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles: a berth in the postseason and a large crowd for their regular-season finale.
The Rays punched their ticket to the postseason Tuesday night behind a stellar performance by ace David Price, who tossed eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory.
Champagne flowed after the game as Tampa Bay celebrated to its second postseason berth in the past three years. The last one, in 2008, was memorable as the Rays advanced to the World Series before losing to Philadelphia.
A crowd of 17,891 turned out for Tuesday's clincher - one night after just 12,000-plus were in the seats for the series opener with the Orioles.
Monday's game marked the fourth-smallest crowd of the season, prompting Price and third baseman Evan Longoria to call the low turnout embarrassing.
Rays fans reacted angrily to the criticism from the players, which led to Tampa Bay president Matt Silverman's decision to make available 20,000 free tickets for Wednesday's game.
Silverman insisted the move was not made to appease fans angry with two of the team's high-profile superstars. Instead, he said it was designed to bring "energy" to Tropicana Field.
How much energy the Rays bring to the park today remains to be seen. Tampa Bay still is battling for a division title, leading the New York Yankees by one-half game in the American League East. The Yankees also clinched a playoff slot Tuesday night.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said after Tuesday's game that the goal is still to win the division, although he suggested on Monday that Price would not make the final start of the season Sunday if the team was already in the playoffs.
Jeff Niemann (11-7) will take the mound tonight in what could be an audition for a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation for the postseason.
The 27-year-old right-hander snapped a four-game losing streak his last time out, allowing three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-3 win over Seattle.
Although he struggled in the game, it was the best effort for Niemann since he returned from the disabled list in late August. He had not pitched more than five innings in his previous five starts.
Niemann is 4-2 with a 5.36 ERA in nine appearances – eight starts – against Baltimore.
Veteran righty Kevin Millwood, who has endured a miserable season, will oppose Niemann in what will likely be his final start of the year.
Millwood (3-16) lost his first eight decisions before picking up his first win of the season on June 13. He won his next start and then went more than two months until registering his third win on Aug. 28.
With the exception of his last start at Boston, in which he surrendered six runs on seven hits in five innings, Millwood has pitched fairly well in his previous four outings, allowing a total of eight runs.
That included a 4-1 loss against the Rays, when Millwood was tagged for four runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.