Baltimore @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2015 ) Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 3

The Baltimore Orioles are keeping their slim hopes of an American League wild-card spot alive with seven wins in last nine contests. The Orioles look to build more optimism - after rallying with four runs in the eighth to earn a 4-3 victory in the series opener - when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Rays on Friday to continue a four-game set.

Jonathan Schoop has hit safely in a career-high 10 straight games and Adam Jones boasts 11 RBIs over the last six contests for Baltimore, which moved within 4½ games of Houston for the second wild card. The Orioles are 9-7 against the Rays in 2015 and can clinch the season series with one win, but it won’t be easy against Tampa Bay starter Drew Smyly - 3-0 lifetime against them. The Rays are 2-5 on their 10-game homestand and have tumbled out of realistic contention for a playoff spot with a 4-10 mark since Sept. 2. Tampa Bay’s James Loney is 11-for-21 over the past seven games (6-for-8 in the last two).

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Tyler Wilson (2-1, 2.19 ERA) vs. Rays LH Drew Smyly (2-2, 3.14)

Wilson gets his third major league start - moving back the rest of the rotation one day - and meets Tampa Bay for the first time. The 25-year-old Virginia native allowed two runs over 7 2/3 innings to earn a victory in his last appearance and start Aug. 3 im Oakland. The 10th-round pick of the Orioles in 2011 took the loss despite limiting the Chicago White Sox to two runs over six frames in his only other start on May 28.

Smyly is unbeaten in the last five starts after striking out 11 and yielding four hits over six scoreless innings without factoring in the decision Sunday against Boston. The 26-year-old Arkansas native beat Baltimore with seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts Sept. 1 and owns a 0.79 ERA all time versus the Orioles. Chris Davis is 2-for-14 (two homers) in his career against Smyly, who has surrendered nine blasts in nine games this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Tampa Bay SS Asdrubal Cabrera missed the last two games with a left knee strain and is considered day-to-day.

2. Baltimore OF Nolan Reimold is 12-for-36 with three homers, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored in September.

3. Rays catchers have belted 19 homers this season while catching (Curt Casali 10, J.P. Arencibia five, Rene Rivera four), one shy of the club record set in 1999.

PREDICTION: Rays 4, Orioles 2