Houston @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 7, 2019 ) Houston 3, Tampa Bay 10

The Tampa Bay Rays were the first team to truly embrace the "bullpen day" in which they utilize a host of relievers instead of a traditional starter. They'll employ that method in a do-or-die Game 4 of the American League Division Series against arguably the best starter in baseball in Houston's Justin Verlander when the Astros visit the Rays on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay avoided a sweep with a 10-3 win in Monday's Game 3, utilizing four home runs and a solid pitching performance led by Charlie Morton to keep its season alive. "The crowd was tremendous," Rays manager Kevin Cash told the media of the Game 3 environment. "Thank the Bay area fans. It was awesome. ... We fed off that momentum right there for multiple innings." Carrying that momentum over against Verlander is no easy task, as the former MVP tossed seven scoreless innings while yielding one hit in leading the Astros to a Game 1 victory. Diego Castillo will serve as Tampa Bay's opener as the club tries to force a deciding Game 5 on Thursday in Houston.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, FS1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Justin Verlander (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Rays RH Diego Castillo (0-0, 0.00)

Verlander's Game 1 win left him at 8-0 with a 2.14 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) in the division series round, and 14-7 with a 3.05 mark in his postseason career. He has won four straight starts dating to the regular season, allowing five runs in 24 innings during that span. The 36-year-old is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 10 career starts at Tropicana Field.

Castillo served as the opener six times during the regular season and posted a 6.15 ERA in that role, compared to 3.08 in his 59 relief appearances. He tossed two scoreless innings in the AL wild-card game against Oakland and another 1 2/3 scoreless in the Game 2 loss at Houston. Game 1 starter Tyler Glasnow, Game 2 starter Blake Snell and southpaw Ryan Yarbrough -- who has thrown just one inning of relief in the series -- are all candidates to get some outs with the season on the line.

WALK-OFFS

1. Rays SS Willy Adames went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double in Game 3 after opening the postseason 1-for-8 with four strikeouts.

2. Astros 2B Jose Altuve is 4-for-13 with two home runs and two doubles in the series.

3. Tampa Bay is 7-4 in its postseason history when facing elimination.

PREDICTION: Astros 4, Rays 3