TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
BATTLING BACK — Tampa Bay avoided its first series sweep of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, defeating the Cubs, 4-3, with a late-inning comeback win… trailing 2-0 with two outs in the seventh inning, 2B Brandon Lowe (1-for-4, HR, 2RBI) tied the game with a two-run homer…after Tampa Bay surrendered one run in the bottom of seventh frame, CF Jose Siri (1-for-3, HR, 2RBI, BB) put the Rays ahead, 4-3, with a two-run homer of his own…LHP Jalen Beeks inherited a bases-loaded jam with one out in the ninth inning, but struck out 2B Miles Mastrobuoni and got C Yan Gomes to fly out to left field, securing the 4-3 victory.
Jose Siri has 10 HR on the year, including seven in his last 15 games dating back to 5/12…Siri hit 7 HR in 104 games in 2022 between Houston (3HR, 48G) and Tampa Bay (4 HR, 56G).
Brandon Lowe has a team-best four game-tying/go-ahead home runs in the seventh inning or later this season (5/17 at NYM, 4/21 vs. CWS and 4/10 vs. BOS)… the four such homers are tied with STL Nolan Gorman and MIA Jorge Soler for the MLB lead.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS — Yesterday, the Rays acquired RHP Robert Stephenson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for INF Alika Williams.
DOUBLE DIP — Today’s series-opening doubleheader at Boston marks Tampa Bay’s first twin bill of the 2023 season…the Rays last played a doubleheader in Boston on 6/8/19, splitting the twin bill…today marks the ninth time in franchise history the Rays have played a doubleheader at Fenway Park (6/8/19, 5/1/14, 6/18/13, 8/16/11, 9/13/09, 4/29/04, 7/23/02 and 9/21/98); they have gone 6-10 in those games.
Tampa Bay played two doubleheaders last season, both coming in Toronto at Rogers Centre…Tampa Bay took both games on 7/2 and notched a split on 9/13.
MAY FLOWERS — Tampa Bay went 17-12 (.586) in May after going 22-6 (.786) in April… Jose Siri had a team-best 8 HR in May, batting .254 (18-for-71) with one double, one triple, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored…Josh Lowe paced the club with 19 RBI while batting .271 (23-for-85) with five doubles, 6 HR and eight steals…Wander Franco had a team-best 32 hits, finishing the month hitting .296 (32-for-108) with three doubles, two triples, 2 HR and 12 RBI, including his current seven-game hitting streak.
At the conclusion of May, the Rays paced the majors in both home runs (103) and stolen bases (77)…per Elias, Tampa Bay became the first team since the since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (61HR, 21SB) to lead the majors outright in both homers and stolen bases at the end of May.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING — With Wednesday’s win over the Cubs, the Rays avoided their first sweep of the season…they were last swept from 10/3-5, 2022 at Boston…the Rays are 12-5-1 in series play this season, including 9-1-0 at home and 3-4-1 on the road…have gone 0-3-1 over their last four road series dating back to 5/8, posting a 5-8 mark overall as a visitor in that span.
The Rays are currently the only major league club that has not had a losing streak of 3+ games in 2023.
CLOSE SHAVES — Nineteen of Tampa Bay’s last 27 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including 16 one-run games in that span…this comes after just six of Tampa Bay’s first 31 games were decided by two or fewer runs.
On the season, Tampa Bay is 11-10 in one-run games, tied with Cleveland (11-16) for the most one-run wins among AL clubs…the Rays have played in five straight one-run games, their longest such streak since 6/15-19, 2022 (5G).
FRIENDLY CONFINES — Brandon Lowe is a career .335 (52-for-155) hitter in 48 games against Boston, tallying nine doubles, one triple, 16 HR and 36 RBI…in 17 games at Fenway Park, he is batting .436 (24-for-55) with five doubles, 6 HR and 16 RBI.
Since 2018, among batters with at least 100 PA against the Red Sox, Lowe ranks among league leaders in OBP (1st, .435), OPS (1st, 1.169), SLG (2nd, .716), at-bats per HR (2nd, 9.69), HR (3rd), extra-base hits (T7th) and RBI (T8th).
THE BOY WANDER — Wander Franco has strung together a seven-game hitting streak, matching his longest of the season (also: 5/5-11)…he is batting .462 (12-for-26) with one triple, 6 RBI, five walks and only three strikeouts in that span…he also has six stolen bases during the streak, bringing his season total to 20, third most in MLB behind OAK Esteury Ruiz (28SB) and ATL Ronald Acuña Jr. (23SB)…Franco recorded his 20th steal in his 55th game of the season, becoming the fastest Ray to reach the milestone since Carl Crawford (29G) and B.J. Upton (55G) in 2009.
Franco’s 3.5 bWAR leads the majors, ahead of TOR Bo Bichette (3.3).
In addition to ranking third among major league shortstops in average (.298) and OPS (.844), Franco leads all SS in defensive runs saved (9), ahead of CHC Dansby Swanson (7) and COL Ezequiel Tovar (7), according to FanGraphs.
CAN’T CATCH ME — The Rays have stolen 25 consecutive bases without being caught dating back to 5/22, the longest streak in club history…they had achieved the previous mark of 21 straight steals on two separate occasions (6/3-27, 2007 & 7/1-23, 2010)… according to Elias, the last major league club to steal 25 straight bases was San Francisco (28 SB) from 6/18-8/24, 2022…the Rays have been successful on 39 of their last 41 stolen base attempts (95.1%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).
Tampa Bay’s 77 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 58 games since the 2009 Rays (91SB).
On the season, Tampa Bay leads the majors in both steals (77) and stolen base attempts (93) while ranking seventh in stolen base pct. (82.8%).
THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 103 home runs, tied for the fourth-most long balls through a club’s first 58 games in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 1999 Seattle Mariners (118HR), 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (113HR) and 2019 Minnesota Twins (109HR)…they reached 100 homers in their 54th game of the season, becoming the fifth-fastest team to reach the milestone in MLB history (since 1901).
The Rays have 30 multi-HR games, tied with New York-AL for the MLB lead; they are 25-5 in those contests…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in the AL and trailing only Los Angeles-NL (18G); the Rays had 13 games with 3+ HR in 2022.
BEANTOWN REPORT — The Rays and Red Sox meet for the fifth time this season and for the first time at Fenway Park…Tampa Bay swept Boston in a four-game set at Tropicana Field from 4/10-13, outscoring the Red Sox 26-12.
Since the beginning of the 2019 season, the Rays are 46-25 (.648) against the Red Sox, including a 19-12 (.613) mark at Fenway Park during that span…it is the most wins by any team against Boston during that span ahead of New York-AL (45-22).
GAME 1 SCHEDULED PITCHER: RHP COOPER CRISWELL(1-1, 6.46)
OPENING ACT — RHP Trevor Kelley will start the first game of today’s doubleheader as an opener with RHP Cooper Criswell scheduled to follow…will mark his third career start, including his second on the road (also 5/12 at NYY)…will be making his first career appearance against the Red Sox…has pitched to a 2.25 ERA (4.0IP, 1ER) in his two starts compared to a 6.43 ERA (7.0IP, 5ER) in six relief appearances.
KELLEY CHRONICLES — Over his first three games with the Rays, Kelley recorded a 9.00 ERA (5.0IP, 5ER)…over his last five outings since, the righty has a 1.50 ERA (6.0IP, 1ER), with his only blemish in that span being a solo homer by Miguel Vargas on 5/27 vs. Los Angeles-NL…on the season, four of the six runs he’s allowed have come via the 3 HR against him.
Has held opponents to a .185 average (5-for-27) in plate appearances that end with his sweeper, including three strikeouts.
CALLING ON CRISWELL — The right-hander is scheduled to make his seventh career appearance today, including his fifth of 2023…was recalled earlier today as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, his third stint with the Rays this season (also: 4/17-22, 5/21-27)…opponents are batting .207 (6- for-29) against him the first time through the order, compared to .394 (13- for-33) the second and third times through…opposing hitters are 3-for-32 (.094) against him in two-strike counts.
IN THE WIN COLUMN — Earned his first major league win on 5/26 vs. Los Angeles-NL after tossing 4.0 innings of one-run ball in relief during Tampa Bay’s 9-3 victory (4.0IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 4SO)…allowed his only run of the evening on a third-inning RBI-single by J.D. Martinez…three of his four strikeouts in the outing came via his sinker; entering the day, only two of his 11 punchouts this season had been produced on the pitch.
BEANTOWN RUNDOWN — Today will mark Criswell’s first career appearance against the Red Sox…he has made one previous appearance against an AL East club, allowing one run over 3.1 innings of work on 9/12/22 at Toronto (3.1IP, 2H, 1ER, BB, 4SO).
K’S FOR COOPER — In his season debut on 4/17 at CIN, Criswell entered in the fifth inning and fanned seven batters with zero walks (4.0IP, 4H, 4ER, 7SO, 2HBP)…he became the sixth Rays reliever to strike out 7+ batters without a walk, including the first since Robert Dugger on 5/1/22 vs. MIN (7SO, 0BB).
2023 RECAP — Criswell received a non-roster invitation to Rays Spring Training, turning in a 0.79 ERA (11.1IP, 1ER) over six appearances (2 starts) during Grapefruit League play…began the season with Triple-A Durham, going 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA (11.2IP, 4ER) in three appearances before the Rays selected his contract on 4/17…he made a pair of major league appearances before being optioned to Durham on 4/22…he was recalled again from 5/21- 27 before re-joining the Rays today as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.
GAME 2 STARTER: RHP TYLER GLASNOW (0-0, 6.23)
ALL G(L)AS NO BRAKES — The right-hander makes his second start of the season in today’s nightcap at Fenway Park, including his first road outing of 2023…made two regular season starts in 2022 after recovering from Tommy John surgery before earning the starting nod in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series at Cleveland…suffered a left oblique strain during a Spring Training practice on 2/27 and was placed on the 15-day injured list on 3/29 (retro 3/27) before being reinstated on 5/27.
HE’S BACK — Made his first major league start of the season and his first home start since 6/8/21 in Tampa Bay’s 6-5 loss to Los Angeles-NL on 5/27 (4.1IP, 5H, 3ER, BB, 8SO, HR)…yielded a lead-off HR to Max Muncy in the second frame before the Dodgers added a pair of runs in the fourth on an RBI-double and a wild pitch…he recorded a 45.4 pct. whiff rate in the outing
SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON — In eight career starts against Boston, Glasnow is 2-1 with a 3.83 ERA (42.1IP, 18ER), holding Red Sox hitters to a .217 average (34-for-157) while recording 11.91 SO/9.0 IP…this includes a 1-1 mark and a 4.00 ERA (27.0IP, 12ER) in five starts at Fenway Park.
Following his recovery from Tommy John surgery, he made his second and final start of the 2022 season on 10/3/22 at Boston, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings (3.2IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 7SO).
Glasnow is 8-6 with a 4.03 ERA (147.1IP, 66ER) in 29 career starts against AL East clubs, recording a 32.7 pct. strikeout rate, his second-highest mark against any division, behind the AL West (38.2%).
ROAD TRIPPIN’ — Today’s outing marks Glasnow’s first road start of the campaign; his most recent outing on the road also came at Fenway Park on 10/3/22…has held opponents to a .196 batting average in his career as a visitor, fourth-lowest among active pitchers (min. 200.0IP on the road) behind KC Aroldis Chapman (.179), PHI Craig Kimbrel (.183) and BOS Kenley Jansen (.183).
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox defeated CIN on Thursday to avoid being swept and snap a 3-game losing streak. The Sox are 3-7 in their last 10 games, losing 2 of their last 3 series (0-3 at LAA, 2-1 at ARI, 1-2 vs. CIN). At 29-27 (.518), the Sox rank 5th in the AL East and are 3.5 games back from the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot.
BANGED: Last night’s game vs TB was postponed due to persistent rain and thunderstorms in the Fenway area. The game was rescheduled for Monday, 6/5, at 4:10 p.m. It was the Red Sox’ 1st postponement since Opening Day 2022 (4/7 at NYY)…It was their 1st postponement at Fenway Park since 8/22/21 vs. TEX. 6/5 was a scheduled off-day for the Sox…They will now play 13 games in the next 12 days, through 6/14, and 23 games in the next 23 days, through 6/25.
LET’S PLAY TWO: Today marks the Red Sox’ 1st scheduled doubleheader since 8/30/1978 vs. TOR…That year, they played 4 scheduled doubleheaders (also 4/23, 5/28, 7/16). The Red Sox are 5-7 in doubleheader games since the start of 2022, splitting 3 of their 6 twin bills since then. The Sox’ last swept a doubleheader on 4/14/21 at MIN…They were last swept on 8/17/21 vs. NYY. The last time the Red Sox swept a doubleheader at
Fenway Park was on 6/18/13 vs. TB.
SOX & RAYS: The Red Sox were swept by the Rays in a 4-game series at Tropicana Field from 4/10-13. After this series, the clubs won’t meet until September, when they play a 3-game series in St. Petersburg from 9/4-6 and a 2-game series in Boston from 9/26-27. BOS went 6-3 at home vs. TB last season…They swept the Rays in a 3-game series here from 10/3-5/22.
EASTERN STANDARD: The Red Sox are 7-7 vs. AL East opponents this season, including 6-1 at Fenway Park. The Sox have won both of their home series against AL East teams (2-2-0 overall)…They defeated BAL in a season-opening 3-game series from 3/30-4/2 (2-1) and swept TOR in a 4-game series from 5/1-4. In 2022, they didn’t win their 2nd series against an AL East opponent until 8/14 (began 1-11-1).
GETTING BUSY: The Red Sox are currently in a span of 26 games in 27 days, from 5/30-6/25 (1-2 so far). 3 of the Sox’ next 5 series (10 of 16 games from 6/3-18) are against AL East opponents…Just 1 of their 9 series from 4/28-6/1 were within the division (5/1-4 vs. TOR).
TOUGH TEST: The Red Sox have won 19 games against opponents with a current winning percentage of .500 or better, tied for 3rd most in MLB (TB-22, TOR-22). The Red Sox are 19-19 (.500) against teams that currently have a .500 winning percentage or better. 7 of the Sox’ next 10 series, through 7/6, are against opponents who are currently above .500 (vs. TB, at NYY, vs. NYY, at MIN, vs. MIA, at TOR, vs. TEX).
UPS AND DOWNS: The Red Sox are 16-13 in their last 29 games, beginning 4/29…That span includes the Sox’ 2 longest winning streaks of the season (8 games, 4/29-5/6 and 4 games, 5/15-20) and 2 season-high-tying 4-game losing streaks (5/12-15 and 5/21-24).
WHERE WE LEFT OFF: The Red Sox beat the Reds Thursday night, 8-2, scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. In the 8th inning, Rafael Devers hit an RBI double, Kiké Hernández hit a 2-run single, and Connor Wong hit a 2-run HR…Hernández also hit a solo HR in the 7th. Red Sox relievers allowed 1 R over the final 5.1 innings (2 H, 2 BB, 5 SO) after Chris Sale (3.2 IP, 5 H, R, B, 6 SO) was removed due to left shoulder soreness.
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox lost their 3-game series vs. CIN to fall to 11-6-1 in series play, including 6-3-0 at home. The Sox are 3-3-1 in their last 7 series, beginning 5/9. They are 7-3-0 in series against AL opponents.
PITCHING IN: Red Sox pitchers have allowed 4 ER or fewer in 12 of their last 14 games, posting a 3.27 ERA and .208 opponent AVG in that span (44 ER/121.0 IP, 94-for-452). Over that 14-game span, beginning 5/16, the Sox own MLB’s 2nd-best opponent AVG and 4th-best ERA. During that span, Sox relievers rank 2nd in MLB in WHIP (0.99) and 3rd in opponent AVG (.178), while Sox starters rank 5th in ERA (3.42) Red Sox starting pitchers have allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 11 of their last 13 games.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox rank in MLB’s top 5 in runs scored (4th, 293), AVG (5th, .264), OBP (3rd, .333), SLG (5th, .436), OPS (5th, .769), doubles (2nd, 126), and XBH (4th, 195). BOS has hit 2 HR in each of the last 2 games following a season-long streak of 9 games without multiple HR. With RISP, the Sox lead MLB in SO% (18.2) and rank 2nd in AVG (.297) and OBP (.377).
SOX STRIKEOUTS: Red Sox batters have struck out 446 times, 2nd fewest in the AL and 5th fewest in MLB. The Sox struck out 10+ times in each of their 9 games vs. ARI, ATL, and TB (11.4 SO/game) but have done so just 5 times in their other 47 games (7.3 SO/game).
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox are 16-13 at Fenway Park…They’re 3-6 in their last 9 games at the venue, after going 11-3 in their previous 14. The Sox have averaged 10.4 hits per game at home, 0.8 more than the closest team (COL-9.6).
RED SOX IN HOME GAMES
Stat MLB Rank
6.1 R/game 2nd
10.5 H/game 1st
4.1 XBH/game 1st
123 wRC+ 4th
Stat MLB Rank
.296 AVG 1st
.360 OBP 1st
.489 SLG 4th
.849 OPS 1st
ON THE MEND: Christian Arroyo (SS) and Adam Duvall (CF) both played the entirety of Triple-A Worcester’s game last night at Louisville…Duvall went 1-for-3 with a solo HR and a walk. Arroyo has played in 6 games for the WooSox, making 3 starts at 2B and 2 as the DH, and 1 at SS and going 5-for-23 (.263 AVG, 2B, RBI). Duvall has made 2 starts in CF and 1 as the DH for the WooSox, going 1-for-9 (HR, BB).
TODAY’S STARTER: 22 GARRETT WHITLOCK – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 2-2 5.14 4 4 21.0 12 5 3 15 1.19 .278
CAREER 14-8 3.02 81 13 172.2 58 21 35 178 1.08 .233
Earned the win on Saturday at ARI (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 SO, HR)…It was his 1st MLB outing since 4/22 at MIL…Was reinstated from the 15-Day IL prior to the game (right elbow ulnar neuritis). Threw a career-high 35 changeups on last Saturday at ARI…In at-bats ending with the pitch, opponents were 2-for-12 with 3 SO. Allowed 5 runs over 5.0 IP in his last start vs. TB on 4/11 (L, 8 H, 5 SO, 3 HR). Has walked only 3 of his 83 batters faced (3.6%)…Ranks in MLB’s 94th percentile in BB%, as well as in the 99th percentile in extension. Among Red Sox pitchers in the Live Ball Era (min. 150.0 IP), ranks 11th in ERA (3.02) and 5th in SO/BB ratio (5.09) behind only Koji Uehara (7.86), Chris Sale (6.25), Pedro Martinez (5.45), and Curt Schilling (5.31).
