TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
DELIVERING IN CRUNCH TIME — DH Yandy Díaz (0-for-3, RBI) recorded a game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to lift the Rays to a 4-3 victory over the host Astros in last night’s series opener…2B Brandon Lowe (2-for-3, HR, 3RBI, R, SB) handed Tampa Bay an early 3-0 lead with a two-out, three-run homer in the opening frame…LHP Shane McClanahan (5.0IP, 8H, 3ER, 6SO) did not issue a walk for just the third time in 20 starts, but he was tagged for a season-high eight hits, including a game-tying two-run homer by José Abreu in the fourth inning…the game remained knotted at 3-3 until Díaz’s go-ahead RBI in the ninth, which preceded RHP Pete Fairbanks’ (1.0IP, BB, SO) 13th save.
LHP Colin Poche (1.0IP, SO) tossed a scoreless eighth inning to improve to 8-3, tying CIN Ian Gibaut (8-2) for the most wins among MLB relievers.
The Rays were out-hit, 8-6, in the contest, marking their first win when being outhit since 6/28 at Arizona, snapping a streak of 10 straight losses in such contests… on the season, Tampa Bay is 12-26 when it is out-hit by an opponent.
STATE OF THE RAYS — The Rays continue a nine-game, 10-day road trip tonight in Houston…it marks their second-longest trip of the season, behind only a 10-game, 11-day swing through Baltimore, New York-AL and New York-NL from 5/8-18 (4-6)… Tampa Bay is in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive series against clubs that are currently above the .500 mark, going 0-2-1 in sets against Texas, Baltimore and Miami (2-7 overall) with their next two series coming against Houston (3G – 2G to go) and New York-AL (3G)…their last series win over a club that entered with a .500+ record was 6/27- 29 at Arizona — they are 0-5-1 in their last six such series since, but could secure a series victory over the Astros with a win tonight.
Tampa Bay has gone 2-6-4 over its last 12 series dating back to 6/12-15 at Oakland… it opened the year 15-5-1 in series play.
Last night’s victory marked the Rays first win when tied entering the ninth inning since 6/3 (G2) at Boston, snapping a string of five straight losses in such contests.
The win also improved Tampa Bay to 15-19 in one-run games, halting a five-game losing streak from 7/2-22…the five-game skid was the club’s longest in one-run contests since 6/1-10, 2018 (also 5G)…on the season, the Rays 34 one-run games are tied for fourth most in the majors behind Cincinnati (43G), Cleveland (39G) and Oakland (38G).
The Rays are one of two teams in the majors to string together multiple 7+ game winning streaks (13G – 3/30-4/14; 7G – 6/3-6/9) and suffer multiple 5+ game losing streaks (7G – 7/1-8; 5G – 7/16-20), joining San Francisco.
JUMBLED UP JULY — The Rays are 6-15 (.250) in July after entering the month with MLB’s best record at 57-28 (.671)…it matches Chicago-AL and Arizona (both 6-15) for
the second-worst winning pct. in the majors this month, ahead of only Pittsburgh (6-16, .273)…Tampa Bay has not been shut out in July, but it has scored three or fewer runs 12 times, including six games with just one run…Tampa Bay is 5-4 when plating 4+ runs this month compared to 1-11 with three or fewer runs.
The Rays rank at the bottom of the AL’s July rankings in runs per game (3.3), batting average (.209), on-base pct. (.280), slugging pct. (.360) and OPS (.640).
Tampa Bay’s worst winning percentage over a full calendar month is .192 (5-21), set in June 2003…the club’s worst month since becoming the Rays in 2008 was 9-16 (.360), done in both July 2015 and July 2016 — Tampa Bay would need to win each of its next three games to avoid its worst month since re-branding to the Rays.
FIRST FRAME FEATS — The Rays are out-scoring opponents, 64-31 (+33), in the first inning, the third-best first-inning run differential in the majors behind Atlanta (+65) and Houston (+35)…it signals MLB’s fewest runs allowed in the opening frame and the fifth-most runs scored.
Rays pitching paces the majors in first-inning ERA (2.63), opponent batting average (.199) and fewest baserunners per 9.0 IP (10.10)…Tampa Bay’s offense ranks highly in the opening frame in stolen bases (T1st, 16), total bases (3rd, 200), extra-base hits (3rd, 46) and OPS (4th, .827).
The Rays are 25-10 (.714) when scoring in the first inning compared to 38-33 (.535) in all other contests…this includes a 13-4 (.765) mark when scoring multiple runs in the first frame.
Randy Arozarena is slashing .353/.451/.647 (24-for-68) with 15 RBI in the opening frame, ranking among the AL’s first-inning leaders (min. 60PA) in OBP (1st), SLG (1st), OPS (1st, 1.098), AVG (2nd) and RBI (2nd)…Wander Franco’s .952 OPS ranks second in the AL behind Arozarena under the same parameters.
HEATING UP — Yandy Díaz is slashing .347/.411/.531 (17-for-49) with five extra-base hits and 11 RBI over his last 13 games since 7/6…he paces the AL with a .398 OBP and is looking to become the first player in club history to lead the league in the category over a full season.
Brandon Lowe has reached base safely in eight of his last nine games, slashing .313/.389/.625 (10-for-32) with three homers and 6 RBI…he has 5 RBI in his last four games after recording 5 RBI total from 5/29-7/22 (19G)…he has posted a 12.0 pct. strikeout rate since the All-Star break compared to 31.6 pct. before the break.
Jose Siri has hit safely in eight of his 10 starts since the All-Star break, batting .297 (11-for-37) with two doubles, four homers and 5 RBI…his .991 OPS in the second half ranks fourth among AL outfielders (min. 35PA).
IT TAKES A VILLAGE — Excluding position players, the Rays have used 31 different pitchers, tied with Cincinnati and Oakland for the most in the majors…they have used 14 starters, tied for fifth most in baseball behind Kansas City (16), Oakland (16), Boston (15) and Atlanta (15)…Rays pitching has logged 937.2 innings, second most in the majors behind Minnesota (942.1IP)…Tampa Bay has also placed 14 different pitchers on the injured list, tied for third most in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (16) and Cincinnati (15), per Spotrac.
Despite this, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff leads the majors in ERA (3.70), opp. AVG (.226), opp. SLG (.376) and opp. OPS (.671) and ranks highly in WHIP (2nd, 1.18), opp. OBP (2nd, .296) and HR/9.0 IP (3rd, 1.05).
JUICE BOX BATTLE — The Rays make their lone trip of the season to Minute Maid Park for this weekend’s three-game series against the Astros…following a 14-game home winning streak to open the year, Tampa Bay was dealt its first home loss of the season by Houston on 4/25 (5-0) as the Astros claimed two of three games at Tropicana Field from 4/24-26… the Rays are 5-8 in this venue since the beginning of 2018.
With a win tonight, Tampa Bay would claim its first series win over Houston since 3/28-31, 2019, snapping a streak of six consecutive series losses…it would also mark the Rays first series win at Minute Maid Park since 7/31-8/3, 2017.
The Rays won eight of nine season series against the Astros from 2010-19, with the lone outlier being a 3-3 tie in 2016, going 35-19 overall in that span…the two clubs did not meet in 2020, but the Astros have won each of the last two season sets, with Tampa Bay going 5-11 against Houston since the beginning of 2021.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (5-6, 5.30)
TONIGHT’S START — The 22-year-old rookie makes his 16th start of the season and his ninth on the road…since recording his first career quality start on 6/21 vs. Baltimore, he has gone 0-3 with an 8.46 ERA (22.1IP, 21ER) and a .327/.368/.663 (32-for-98) opponent slash line over his last five starts — the Rays are 0-5 in those games…ranks among MLB rookie leaders (min. 60.0IP) in SO rate (1st, 30.4%), SO/BB ratio (2nd, 4.32) and strikeouts (3rd, 95).
LAST TIME OUT — Did not factor into the decision on 7/23 vs. Baltimore after working 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
After allowing three runs in the first two innings, he retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced.
Bradley is the first Rays rookie to strike out 6+ batters in 10 of his first 15 career starts…James Shields is the next closest (8G in 2006).
UNFAMILIAR FOE — Bradley earned the win in his lone career matchup with Houston on 4/24…tossed 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
It marked one of three starts in which Bradley has not issued a walk…after walking fours batters across his first five starts (24.1IP), he has walked 18 over his last 10 starts (47.0IP).
In five starts against AL West opponents, Bradley is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA (21.1IP, 16ER) and 33 strikeouts against 10 walks
STRIKEOUT SAVANT — Bradley’s 95 punchouts are the second most through a pitcher’s first 15 starts with the Rays in franchise history, trailing only Charlie Morton (107SO: 3/29-6/15, 2019).
Since his MLB debut on 4/12, Bradley’s 30.4 pct. strikeout rate is fourth highest among AL starters (min. 10GS), behind teammate Tyler Glasnow (34.8%), TOR Kevin Gausman (33.5%) and LAA Shohei Ohtani (32.0%).
On 6/15 at Oakland, Bradley recorded each of his first nine outs via the strikeout…his 11 punchouts on the day were tied with six other pitchers for the second most by a Rays rookie in club history, trailing only Dan Wheeler (12SO) on 9/12/99 vs. OAK …the last Tampa Bay rookie to record 11+ K’s was Jake Odorizzi (11SO) on 5/9/14.
TROUBLE WITH THE LONG BALL — Bradley permitted only four homers in his first nine career starts from 4/12-6/15 — his 0.84 HR/9.0 IP in that span was 12th lowest in the AL (min. 40.0IP)…over his last six starts since 6/21, he has yielded nine homers, good for 2.86 HR/9.0 IP, the third highest mark in the majors in that span (min. 20.0IP), trailing KC Alec Marsh (3.52) and MIN Joe Ryan (3.13).
Bradley has allowed a home run in each of his last six starts (9 of 15GS overall)…it is tied with four others for the second-longest active streak in the majors, trailing only OAK Kyle Muller (9GS).
ABOVE THE CURVE — Bradley has held opponents to a .182 (8-for-44) AVG on his curveball while producing a 25.6 pct. whiff rate on the offering.
ROAD WOES — After going 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA (21.0IP, 4ER), 1.05 WHIP and .200 (15-for-75) opp. average over his first four career road starts from 4/18-6/4, he is 0-2 with an 8.64 ERA (16.2IP, 16ER), 1.98 WHIP and .342 (26-for-76) opp. average in his last four road starts since 6/15.
YOUNG BLOOD — Bradley, 22, is the fourth pitcher in Rays history (5th instance) to make 10+ starts in his age 22 or younger season, joining Luis Patiño (2021), Scott Kazmir (2005-06) and Joe Kennedy (2001)…there is only one pitcher in the majors younger than Bradley who has made 10+ starts in 2023: 20-year-old MIA Eury Pérez (11GS).
Bradley is the fourth-youngest pitcher to appear in a major league game this season, older than only Pérez, ATL AJ Smith-Shawver (20) and ARI Justin Martínez (21).
THIS AND THAT — Of his 95 strikeouts, 58 have come against left-handed hitters, compared to 37 against right-handed batters…opposing 6-9 hitters are batting .189 (20-for-98) with 3 HR against him compared to .313 (56- for-167) with 10 HR vs. the first five spots in the order…opponents are slashing .250/.319/.433 against him the first time through the order and .279/.316/.503 thereafter…opponents are slashing .319/.347/.611 when leading off an inning.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will look to even their three-game series with the Rays tonight in a pitching matchup of rookies between RHP Hunter Brown and RHP Taj Bradley… Brown enters tonight’s start having tossed 11.0 scoreless innings in his short career against the Rays, including a 7.0-inning start earlier this season…Bradley has one career start against the Astros, which came in April, in which he allowed three runs on four hits, including a pair of homers.
STRIKEOUTS APLENTY: Strikeouts are on the docket tonight, as RHP Hunter Brown enters his start leading all AL rookies with 130 strikeouts…meanwhile, RHP Taj Bradley ranks second among AL rookies in strikeouts (95), but counters with the top strikeouts per 9.0 ratio (11.99), which ranks immediately ahead of Brown’s 10.44 ratio (min. 60 IP).
BROTHER BROWN:RHP Hunter Brown has been one of the top rookie performers this year, leading all Major League rookies in pitching WAR (2.2)…he trails only IF Josh Jung (2.9), 3B Gunnar Henderson (2.3) and SS Anthony Volpe (2.3) for the highest WAR of all AL rookies, regardless of position.
TOUGH STRETCH: The Astros are four games (2-2) into a stretch of playing nine straight series against opponents that currently have a .500-or-better record…during this stretch, the Astros will see the Rangers (2-1), Rays (0-1), Guardians, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Marlins, Mariners and Red Sox.
THE DIVISION RACE: The Astros are 8-5 to start the second half, which is exactly the same record as the first-place Rangers, who the Astros trail by just 2.0 games in the division race…while the Astros host the Rays for three, the Rangers are spending their weekend in San Diego with a three-game series against the Padres (0-1 so far).
VS THE RAYS: The Astros enter this series having won six consecutive series vs. the Rays, dating back to August of 2019… since then, Houston is 13-6 overall vs. TB…additionally, the Astros have won eight of their last 11 games vs. TB.
LAST NIGHT’S NAILBITER: The Astros and Rays played a good ballgame last night, with Tampa topping Houston, 4-3…tied 3-3 through the 4th, the game remained tied into the 9th before a sac fly would win prove to win it for the Rays…RHP Cristian Javier (3ER/6IP) started for Houston and returned to form, generating nine strikeouts and 22 swings and misses, his highest totals in a start since May…1B Jose Abreu provided most of the offense, as he hit a two-run homer in the 4th.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: RHP Kendall Graveman (#31) has reported to the Major League club today after his acquisition yesterday…he takes the roster spot of RHP Seth Martinez, who was optioned to Triple A Sugar Land today.
YESTERDAY’S TRADE: Prior to last night’s game, the Astros acquired RHP Kendall Graveman from Chicago (AL) in exchange for minor leaguer C Korey Lee…Graveman returns to the Astros after posting a 3-4 record with eight saves and a 3.48 ERA (17ER/44IP) in 45 appearances with the White Sox this season…this is his second time to be acquired by Houston, who also picked him up in a mid-season trade in 2021 from Seattle.
TAXI SQUAD ADDITION: The Astros have added C César Salazar to the Taxi Squad…Salazar will work out with the club pregame today, but will not be in uniform for tonight’s game.
SECOND-HALF TUCK: All-Star RF Kyle Tucker has had a strong start to the second half, hitting .413 (19×46) with five homers, 13 RBI and a 1.365 OPS in his 13 games…since the break, he ranks third in the AL in OBP (.517), third in SLG (.848), third in OPS and fourth in batting average.
STALKING 200: 2B Jose Altuve needs just two homers to reach 200 for his career, a mark only four other players have reached in club history…that list consists of Jeff Bagwell (449), Lance Berkman (326), Craig Biggio (291) and Jimmy Wynn (223).
SECOND TO NONE: SS Jeremy Peña has hit second in each of the last three games, which is the spot in the batting order where he’s had his most career success…in 74 regular season games, Peña is a .281 (86×306) hitter with 18 homers and an .821 OPS hitting second, while leading the club to a 56-18 record in those games…he also hit second throughout the Astros 2022 postseason run, eventually earning MVP honors for both the ALCS and World Series (11-2 record).
BIG RETURNS: Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Astros reinstated 2B Jose Altuve and LF Yordan Alvarez from the Injured List…it was a long time coming for those two, who have only been in the same Astros starting lineup together on 15 occasions this season, with the Astros going 9-6 in those contests…on the season, Altuve has missed a total of 60 games across two IL stints, while Alvarez missed 39 on his IL stint.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros are down to four players on the IL, with RHP Luis Garcia and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. out for the year…they currently have two players working their way back:
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has progressed back to taking BP on the field, which he’s done so several times over the last week…Brantley, who’s been out the entire season, had progressed that far prior to the All-Star break before being shut down by the team.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) tossed 4.0 scoreless innings and 53 pitches, while allowing just one hit in an injury rehab start with Double A Corpus Christi on Tuesday at San Antonio (Padres affiliate)…Urquidy has made three rehab starts and will likely need one additional rehab start prior to an activation.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
LAST START – 7/23 AT OAK:allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts in 6 innings, surrendering 2 walks…recorded his 9th quality start of the season, which is T-2nd in the club this season.
HISTORIC START: his 144 career strikeouts are the 3rd-most by an Astros pitcher through their 1st 26 career outings, trailing RHP Tom Griffin (169) and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (157).
- started his career 5-0 through his first 12 games (7 starts)…per Elias, was 1st Astros pitcher to win their first 5 decisions since RHP Josh James won his first 7 decisions from 2018-19.
GROUND CONTROL: ranks 2nd among AL pitchers with a 54.1 ground ball percentage, trailing only teammate Framber Valdez (54.7%)…is the 6th-best ground ball percentage among Major League pitchers.
VS. TB: will be making his 2nd start (4th appearance) against the Rays…logged a quality start vs the Rays this season, throwing 7 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts on 4/26 at TB.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among qualified AL rookies, ranks 1st in strikeouts (122), 1st in innings (105.1IP), 1st in WHIP (1.32), and T-3rd in wins (6).
DIESEL: is averaging 91.9 mph with his slider, which is tied for the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers with LAD RHP Joe Kelly, ahead of SD RHP Brent Honeywell (91.8 mph) and TEX RHP Jacob deGrom (91.8 mph) (min 75 PA) per Baseball Savant.
AMONG THE BEST: According to WAR produced by STATS, Brown has been one of the most valuable rookie in the AL this season with a 2.2 WAR…he is behind only TEX IF Josh Jung (2.9), BAL IF Gunnar Henderson (2.3) and NYY IF Anthony Volpe (2.3)…the Astros have had a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 4 straight seasons: SS Jeremy Peña (5th in 2022), RHP Luis Garcia (2nd in 2021), RHP Cristian Javier (3rd in 2020) and LF Yordan Alvarez (1st in 2019).
STRIKEOUT KING: from May 14-May 31, he recorded 8+ K’s in 4 consecutive starts…the last Astros rookie to strike out 8+ batters in 4 consecutive starts was RHP Roy Oswalt, who did so in 6 straight games from Aug. 14-Sept. 9 in 2001…Brown owns 1 of 30 all-time streaks from Astros pitchers of 4+ starts with 8+ strikeouts, with LHP Framber Valdez the last to do so at 4 games from Aug. 4-Sept. 12 in 2022.
SOLID STREAK: made back-to-back starts on April 9 and April 15 in which he recorded at least 7.0 IP without allowing an ER…the last Astros pitcher to do so was LHP Scott Kazmir, who made 2 such starts in a row in 2015 (July 24-July 30, 2015).
