TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
RAY REPORT — The Rays continue a six-game, seven-day West Coast swing tonight at Angel Stadium…they are 11-7 in their last 18 games, including 4-2 in their last six, following an MLB-worst 5-15 (.250) stretch from 7/1-26…they currently occupy the first Wild Card spot, leading Houston by 2.5 games and Toronto by 5.5 games…Tampa Bay sits 2.0 games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East after spending 113 consecutive days atop the division from 3/30-7/21…the Rays are at the beginning of a stretch of 11 games in 15 days, which precedes 17 consecutive games without an off day from 9/1-17… they have an MLB-leading six scheduled off days during August (three remaining).
The Rays are 5-1-1 in their last seven series on the heels of a 2-7-1 performance in series play from 6/12-7/23…they are 5-1-0 in road series since the All-Star streak after going 5-6-2 in the first half of the season.
The Rays have scored first in only two of their last nine games, but have managed a 5-4 record during that span …they are 10-2 their last 12 games when scoring first and have lost 15 of their last 18 when the opposing team plates the opening run.
WELCOME BACK, KITT—Yesterday, the Rays reinstated RHP Andrew Kittredge from the 60-day injured list and designated RHP Hector Perez for assignment…Kittredge, 33, last pitched in the majors on 6/7/22 against St. Louis before undergoing Tommy John surgery on 6/22/22…the 2021 AL All-Star began his rehab assignment with the FCL Rays from 7/4-17, making three scoreless appearances before advancing to Triple-A Durham on 7/18…over 12 games with the Bulls, Kittredge went 3-1 with a 5.40 ERA (13.1IP, 8ER)… excluding a 7/23 outing in which he was tagged for six runs in 0.1 inning, he pitched to a 1.38 ERA (13.0IP, 2ER) in his other 11 appearances for Durham.
OPENING ACT — The Rays have won seven consecutive series openers, their longest streak since winning 11 straight from 4/21-5/26…this includes victories in each of their last four series openers on the road…on the season, their 27-12 (.692) mark in series-opening contests is tied with the Braves (27-12) for second best in the majors behind the Dodgers (28-11/.718)…their 12-7 (.632) mark in road series openers is tied with Texas for sixth best in the majors; Baltimore (15-5/.750) owns MLB’s top such record.
ROAD WARRIORS — The Rays are 7-3 (.700) over their last 10 road games since 7/30, the fourth-best road winning percentage in the majors during that span behind the Mariners (8-1/.889), Dodgers (5-1/.833) and Blue Jays (5-2/.714)…they have outscored opponents, 56-32 (+24), during the run, scoring 5+ times in seven of those 10 games.
The Rays have won each of their last four road series, their longest such streak since also winning four straight from 7/16-8/12, 2021…this weekend, they are seeking a fifth consecutive road series victory for the first time since 8/10- 9/2, 2020 — that streak was part of Tampa Bay’s 7-1-0 run in road series play to conclude the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
NO. 100 FOR B-LOWE — Brandon Lowe connected on his 100th career home run on Wednesday in San Francisco, becoming the fastest primary second baseman in MLB history to reach the 100-homer mark…Lowe’s 100th long ball came in his 477th career game and 1,902nd career plate appearance…previously, the fastest second baseman (>50% of games at 2B) to reach the milestone by both plate appearances and games was Dan Uggla, who did so in his 2,242nd plate appearance during his 509th career game (Elias).
The long ball made Lowe the seventh player to record 100+ home runs in a Rays uniform…he leapfrogged Fred McGriff for sole possession of seventh on Tampa Bay’s all-time home run list, just four shy of sixth-place Carl Crawford (104HR).
Lowe’s .816 career OPS ranks 18th in MLB history (since 1901) among primary second basemen (min. 1,500PA)…his .484 SLG ranks fourth behind Rogers Hornsby (.577), Jeff Kent (.500) and Robinson Canó (.488).
ON THE OFFENSIVE — The Rays have collected 55 hits over their last five games (11.0 H/G), batting a collective .299 in those contests…it marks their most hits over any five-game span since 6/18-23 (58H)…Tampa Bay has launched 27 homers over its last 18 games since 7/29, going 11-7 in that span…since 7/25, the Rays are 12-3 when homering at least once compared to 0-5 when failing to hit a homer…from 7/1-23, they went 3-11 in games when they homered at least once.
Yandy Díaz has reached base in 15 of his last 16 games, producing a .368/.427/.544 (25-for-68) line with six doubles, two homers and 10 RBI.
Josh Lowe has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, batting .323 (10-for31) with three extra-base hits and 3 RBI…Lowe’s 15 home runs this season have traveled an average distance of 412 feet, the farthest mark among Rays hitters and seventh farthest in the AL (min. 10HR).
Harold Ramírez is hitting .400 (18-for-45) over his last 15 games…this includes a 7-for-14 (.500) mark against left-handed pitchers.
Randy Arozarena has a hit in nine of his last 10 games, batting .300 (12-for-40).
Luke Raley has homered twice in his last four games following a career-long 24- game homerless drought…on Wednesday at San Francisco, Raley recorded the first pinch-hit, inside-the-park home run in franchise history; it marked the 23rd inside-the-park homer by a Ray overall.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ — The Rays and Angels commence a six-game season series tonight in Anaheim…Tampa Bay will play host to Los Angeles from 9/19-21 as part of its final homestand of the season…the Rays are 25-8 (.758) over their last 33 meetings with the Halos dating back to 5/24/17, their best mark against any AL opponent in that span, ahead of Kansas City (25-12/.676)…they have posted a 12-5 mark at Angel Stadium over that stretch; their 17-6 (.739) mark at this venue since Kevin Cash took the helm in 2015 is their second-best at any ballpark, behind Miami’s LoanDepot Park (15-5/.750)… however, Tampa Bay dropped two of three games here from 5/9-11, 2022.
The Rays pitching staff has permitted three or fewer runs in each contest during their current five-game winning streak over the Halos since 5/11/22, posting a 1.50 ERA (48.0IP, 8ER) in that timeframe…this includes a 0.90 ERA (3.0IP, 3ER) from Tampa Bay’s rotation…it marks the fourth-longest winning streak over Los Angeles in club history, trailing a trio of six-game runs (last: 5/3-6/26, 2021).
Angels reliever Matt Moore was drafted by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and spent over five seasons with the club, making his lone career All-Star appearance as a Ray in 2013…Aaron Loup pitched in 24 games for the Rays during the abbreviated 2020 season…Hunter Renfroe was a teammate of Loup’s on the Rays 2020 World Series squad, homering in Tampa Bay’s 8-7 victory in Game 4 of the Fall Classic.
Angels first baseman C.J. Cron recorded a team- and career-high 30 homers with the Rays in 2018 after Tampa Bay acquired him from the Angels during 2018 Spring Training in exchange for a player to be named later…that player turned out to be Luis Rengifo, who is now in his fifth season with the Halos.
Rays first base coach Chris Prieto made the only two major league appearances of his 13-year playing career with the Angels in 2005.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP ERASMO RAMÍREZ (2-3, 5.72)
TONIGHT’S START — RHP Erasmo Ramírez will make his 29th appearance of the season, including his second start…in his lone start on 8/6 at Detroit, Ramírez worked 3.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Ê In 95 career starts, he is 25-28 with a 4.51 ERA…since making his first career start on 6/14/12 at San Diego, he has worked 497.1 innings across the 95 outings while recording 400 strikeouts.
WELCOME BACK — Since making his Rays season debut on 7/30, Ramírez has made four appearances (one start), posting a 4.38 ERA (12.1IP, 6ER)…he has not allowed a homer, striking out eight batters against just one walk.
LA LA LAND — Ramírez has made 16 appearances (9 starts) against the Angels, going 4-2 with a 2.53 ERA (64.0IP, 18ER)…he has struck out 41 batters against just seven walks, posting a 0.95 WHIP and a .222 (54- for-243) opponent average in those outings.
In his lone appearance against Los Angeles-AL this season on 4/12 while with Washington, he threw a perfect relief inning with one strikeout.
Made his longest career start opposite the Angels on 4/1/14, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts across 7.0 innings.
CONTROL IS KEY — He has worked 39.1 innings this season and surrendered only seven free passes…this includes one walk over 12.1 innings since joining the club on 7/30.
He is one of seven pitchers in the majors, along with teammate Zack Littell, to throw 35.0+ innings while allowing seven walks or fewer, joining DET Tyler Alexander, TEX Brock Burke, BOS Chris Martin, SEA Gabe Speier and BOS Garrett Whitlock.
LOOKING BACK — Prior to joining the Rays this season, Ramírez made 23 relief appearances for the Nationals, going 2-3 with a 6.33 ERA (27.0IP, 19ER)…he was designated for assignment by Washington on 6/7 and signed a minor league contract with Tampa Bay on 6/13.
In nine appearances (one start) for Triple-A Durham from 6/14- 7/25, he went 2-1 with a 5.87 ERA (23.0IP, 15ER).
RAMÍREZ REUNION — Ramirez played for Tampa Bay from 2015-2017 and made 135 appearances (47 starts)…he went 23-23 with a 3.97 ERA (385.1IP, 170ER) and three saves.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the first of six games on a homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays (Aug. 18-20) and Cincinnati Reds (Aug. 21-23)…Halos went 2-4 on last road trip against Houston (1-2) and Texas (1-2)…LAA was 2-5 on last homestand against the Mariners (0-4) and Giants (2-1).
TODAY’S TRANSACTIONS: Today the Angels selected the contract of INF Nolan Schanuel and reinstated C Logan O’Hoppe from the injured list…In corresponding moves, INF C.J. Cron (low back inflammation) was placed on the injured list (retro to Aug. 16), C Chad Wallach was designated for assignment and INF Anthony Rendon was transferred to the 60-day IL.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Nolan Schanuel was the Angels first round selection (11th overall) 40 days ago in the 2023 Draft…He would become the third Angels player to debut in his Draft year, joining LHP Brian Anderson (1993) and Danny Goodwin (1975)…He’d also become the first player to debut before September in his Draft year since Chris Sale for the 2010 White Sox and the first U.S.-born player to debut within 40 days of being drafted since Toronto’s Brian Milner in 1978 (credit: ELIAS & ESPN Stats & Info).
NEAR NO-HITTER: On Wednesday night at Texas, Reid Detmers carried a no-hit bid through 7.1 innings before a Marcus Semien double with one out in the 8th inning…Detmers previously tossed a no-hitter on May 10, 2022 vs. Tampa Bay.
MOST SINGLE-SEASON HR IN ANGELS HISTORY:
- Troy Glaus (2000) – 47
- Shohei Ohtani (2021) – 46
- Mike Trout (2019) – 45
- Shohei Ohtani (2023) – 42
HOME RUN LEADERS: Angels lead the American League and rank third in the Majors with 180 home runs this season…Only the Braves (232) and Dodgers (189) have homered more.
BACK IN ACTION: Logan O’Hoppe (shoulder) was reinstated from the injured list today after missing 103 games…He totaled eight games on a rehab assignment between Low-A Inland Empire and hit .375 (9/24) while catching 22 innings behind the plate.
WINS AND LOSSES: Halos have gone 4-4 in last eight contests following a season-high seven game losing streak to begin the month of August…Angels won 10 of previous 13 contests before the losing streak…At 60-62 on the season, Halos are looking to avoid falling back to low-water mark of the year at three games
under .500 (59-62 on Aug. 15).
HELLO, MY NAME IS…: Nolan Schanuel would become the 60th different player used this season by the Angels (most in the Majors)…LAA set a franchise record last year with 66 players used.
VS. TAMPA BAY: Today marks the first of six games this season between the Angels and Tampa Bay and is the 200th all-time meeting between the clubs (Angels lead all-time series 104-95)…Rays are the only A.L. team yet to face the Halos this season…Teams will meet again at Tropicana Field from Sept. 19-21…Tampa Bay won the
2022 season series 5-2.
SCHEDULE UPDATE: Due to the forecast related to Hurricane Hilary, Sunday’s home game vs. Tampa Bay has been rescheduled for a split doubleheader tomorrow with starts with 1:07 p.m. and 6:07 p.m… The games will mark first doubleheader at Angel Stadium since Aug. 10, 2021 vs. Toronto.
THE INJURED LIST: Angels currently have 17 players on the injured list and have used the IL a total of 29 times this year for 26 different players…The 17 players currently on the IL are the most in the Majors.
RECORD SETTING PACE: Shohei Ohtani’s 42 home runs through the first 122 team games of the season are the most in Angels history (the previous record was 40 HR through 122 team games by Ohtani in 2021)… Club record through 123 games was 40 HR by Ohtani in 2021 and Mike Trout in 2019.
SETTING THE TONE: The Angels rank second in the Majors with eight leadoff home runs this season (four by Mickey Moniak and two each from Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo)…Only the Dodgers (10 – all by Mookie Betts) have hit more this year…The eight leadoff homers are tied for the third-most in a season in Halos history (LAA had 10 leadoff HR in 1986 and nine in 2021).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP TYLER ANDERSON 5-4, 5.28 ERA
Has surrendered two-or-fewer earned runs in four of last six starts.
- TODAY’S GAME: Making 22nd appearance (21st start) of the season and 12th road start of the year…Is in eighth Major League season and made seventh straight Opening Day roster…Signed a three-year contract with Angels, Nov. 16, 2022.
- LAST TIME OUT: Last start came on August 12 at Houston and worked 4.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
- SUPPORTED: This season has a run support average of 5.78 (runs per 9 innings pitched), which ranks ninth in the American League (min. 105 IP).
- VS. TAMPA BAY: Making second career appearance vs. Rays, and first since July 18, 2016 with Colorado (W, 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1 HBP).
- AT ANGEL STADIUM: Today is 12th career start at The Big A and 10th as a member of the Angels…This year, is 3-1 with a 4.80 ERA (45 IP – 24 ER) in nine home starts…In his last five home starts, is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA (30 IP – 12 ER)…In his two career games at Angel Stadium as a visitor, was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA (7 IP – 14 ER); made one start for Giants in 2020 and one for Mariners in 2021.
- THE COUNTS: Opponents are batting .172 (38/221) in two strike counts this season, but have a .456 (26/57) average on the first pitch.
- KEEPING IT IN THE PARK: Has allowed just six home runs across last 16 games (15 starts), after allowing six homers in first five starts.
- CHANGE CHANGE: Last season, held opponents to a .179 (41/229) average against his changeup, but opponents are batting .256 (40/156) this year.
- STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: Has allowed 41/66 (62%) of runs in innings 3-5 this season, and has surrendered 19/66 (29%) of runs in the 4th inning.
- HOT SUMMER: Pitched to a 3.28 ERA (24.2 IP – 9 ER) with 20 strikeouts across five games in July, and posted a 2.66 ERA (20.1 IP – 6 ER) with 15 strikeouts in his four starts in the month.
- UPS AND DOWNS: Pitched 6.0 scoreless innings in Angels debut on April 2 at Oakland, before allowing 5+ runs in each of next three starts…Followed that with a five start stretch with a 3.14 ERA (28.2 IP – 10 ER) and 19 strikeouts, before yielding 15 runs across his next three outings…Pitched to a 3.54 ERA (40.2 IP – 16 ER) across next eight starts before surrendering seven runs against Houston on August 12.
- DECISIONS: Is 4-4 in last 10 starts after a streak of seven consecutive starts with a no-decision…The seven game streak tied for the second-longest in franchise history…Angels record streak was eight straight no-decisions by Jim McGlothlin between the 1966-67 seasons.
- HALO DEBUT: Earned the win in Angels debut on April 2 at Oakland after working 6.0 shutout frames, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts MLB Preview: Baltimore Orioles (74-47) at Oakland Athletics (34-87)
