Thursday, March 28, 2024
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MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays (39-16) at Chicago Cubs (22-30)

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

A HOLLYWOOD ENDING — SS Wander Franco (2-for-5, 2RBI, 2R) provided the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning while 3B Isaac Paredes (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 4RBI, 2R) drove in a game-high four runs as the Rays won an 11-10 slugfest over the visiting Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field…Tampa Bay plated six runs in the second inning thanks to five consecutive two-out hits…RF Luke Raley (2-for-3, 2B, 2RBI, 3R, BB, SB) recorded a pair of RBI and was one of seven Rays with multiple hits, the club’s most in a game since 10/2/21 vs. New York-AL (also 7).

RHP Jason Adam recorded a six-out save in his longest outing since 9/5/20 vs. St. Louis (2.0IP)…his four strikeouts matched a career high (4x, last: 8/19/20 vs. STL).

The Rays improved to 26-6 at Tropicana Field, becoming one of 13 teams in MLB history (since 1901) to win 26 of their first 32 home games, including the first since the 2008 Boston Red Sox (also 26-6).

RECENT TRANSACTIONS — Earlier today, the Rays placed RHP Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation (retro to 5/28)…additionally, RHP Trevor Kelley was recalled from Triple-A Durham.

MEMORIAL DAY MATCHUP — The Rays are 8-13 (.381) all-time on Memorial Day, including wins in four of their last five games…last season, Tampa Bay suffered a 9-5 defeat at Texas, halting a club-record streak of four straight Memorial Day victories.

GOING STREAKING — Yandy Díaz has a 22-game on-base streak since 4/27, slashing .359/.468/.692 (28-for-78) with 14 XBH, 15 RBI, 14 walks and only 13 SO in that stretch… it ties the longest streak of his career (also: 7/24-8/16, 2020) and is the fifth-longest active streak in MLB, including second-longest in the AL behind TEX Marcus Semien (25G).

Díaz has reached base safely in 32 of his last 33 games overall, going .355/.455/.636 (43-for-121) at the plate during that span…he leads all qualified major leaguers during that stretch (since 4/15) in AVG, OBP and OPS (1.091).

On the season, his 1.041 OPS leads the majors, ahead of NYY Aaron Judge (1.031)… he also ranks in OBP (2nd, .429), SLG (3rd, .612) and AVG (6th, .327).

WHAT A WANDER-FUL WORLD — Wander Franco has multiple hits in five of his last seven games, batting .444 (12-for-27) with two triples, 6 RBI and four walks over that stretch…he also has four stolen bases in that span, bringing his season total to 18, third most in MLB behind OAK Esteury Ruiz (27SB) and TOR Whit Merrifield (22SB)…on the year, Franco’s 3.5 bWAR lead the majors, ahead of ATL Ronald Acuña Jr. (3.1).

In addition to ranking second among major league shortstops in average (.299) and OPS (.850), trailing only TOR Bo Bichette (.338 AVG, .913 OPS) in both categories, Franco leads all SS in defensive runs saved (9), according to FanGraphs…he trails only TOR Kevin Kiermaier (10) for most defensive runs saved among all fielders.

Franco has also been one of the majors’ best contact hitters — his 13.3 pct. whiff rate is third lowest in the AL and sixth lowest in MLB.

BAG BANDITS — The Rays lead the majors in both steals (72) and stolen base attempts (88) while ranking ninth in stolen base pct. (81.8%)…the Rays have been successful on 34 of their last 36 stolen base attempts dating back to 5/14, including each of their last 20 attempts…per Elias, the 20-steal run marks the third-longest successful stolen base streak in club history (21SB: 7/1-23, 2010 & 21SB: 6/3-27, 2007).

Tampa Bay has stolen 32 bases over its last 12 games since 5/17, most by any MLB club in a 12-game span since the 1990 St. Louis Cardinals (32SB: 6/2-13, 1990).

The Rays have an MLB-best six players with 6+ steals; Cleveland and Milwaukee are next closest (4 each)…they also have the most players with 10+ SB (Wander Franco – 18SB, Taylor Walls – 14SB, Josh Lowe – 12SB), ahead of Baltimore (2).

Franco, Walls and Lowe have combined for 44 stolen bases, more steals than the season totals of 25 of the 30 major league clubs.

Per Elias, no club has led the majors outright in both homers and stolen bases at the end of May since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (61HR, 21SB)…the Rays (101HR, 72SB) currently pace MLB in both categories, ahead of Atlanta/Los Angeles-NL (89HR each) and Pittsburgh (58SB), respectively.

INTERLEAGUE RUNDOWN — The Rays 13-5 (.722) mark against NL clubs ties Milwaukee (13-8) for the most Interleague wins in MLB and signals the third-best Interleague winning percentage, trailing Miami (7-2, .778) and New York-AL (9-3, .750)…following a seven-game losing streak from 6/28-8/10, 2022, Tampa Bay has won 15 of its last 20 Interleague matchups dating back to 8/30/22.

Rays hitters are slashing .283/.351/.515 with 35 homers against the NL…they pace the majors in Interleague AVG, SLG, OPS (.866) and homers…Tampa Bay has plated 7+ runs in 10 of its 18 games against NL clubs, including three 10+ run games.

CLOSE SHAVES — Sixteen of Tampa Bay’s last 24 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including 13 one-run games in that span…the Rays are 14-10 overall in that stretch, including 6-7 in one-run games and 1-2 in two-run games…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 10-8 in one-run games — only Cleveland (11-14) has more one-run wins among AL clubs.

I WALK THE LINE — The Rays 93 walks during the month of May are third most in in the AL behind Minnesota (100BB) and Detroit (96BB)…Randy Arozarena has drawn a walk in 15 of his last 19 games — his 17 walks in that span (since 5/8) are third most in the majors behind PHI Kyle Schwarber (19BB) and SD Juan Soto (18BB).

THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 101 home runs, the fourth-most long balls through a club’s first 55 games in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 1999 Seattle Mariners (110HR), 2019 Minnesota Twins (106HR) and 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (104HR)…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 an MLB-best 29 multi-HR games, ahead of New York-AL (27G); they are 24-5 in those contests…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in the majors ahead of Los Angeles-NL (15G); they had 13 games with 3+ HR in 2022.

The Rays have an MLB-best 11 players with 5+ home runs this season, ahead of Los Angeles-NL (10)…they also have four players with 10+ homers, second most in the majors behind Atlanta (6).

WRIGLEY WRAP-UP — The Rays and Cubs meet for the second consecutive season after Tampa Bay took two of three games at Wrigley Field from 4/18-20, 2022…Tampa Bay has won three of its last four games against Chicago-NL, outscoring the Cubs, 24-12 (+2) in that span…the Rays are 6-5 at this venue all-time, including 2-1-1 in series play.

TODAY’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (3-1, 4.44)
YOUTH MOVEMENT — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 16 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) will make his sixth career start this afternoon vs. Chicago-NL, including his third road start…went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) over 28 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham in 2022…was selected by the Rays in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.

BIG LEAGUE DEBUT — Bradley earned the win in his MLB debut on 4/12 vs. Boston after tossing 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and
a walk with eight strikeouts…fanned Rafael Devers in the first inning for the first strikeout of his career…became the second of three player to make their big league debut for the Rays this season, joining RHP Kevin Kelly on 4/1 vs. Detroit and RHP Braden Bristo on 4/13 vs. Boston.

LAST TIME OUT — Bradley took his first career loss on 5/23 vs. Toronto after throwing 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Through five starts, Bradley has struck out 34 batters against just four walks…the 34 strikeouts are tied with Chris Archer for the second most by a Rays pitcher through their first five career starts, trailing only Jake Faria (35 SO)… Jake Faria holds the franchise record for the most strikeouts through six career starts with 37SO.

Bradley joins WSH Joe Ross (34SO, 3BB) as the only pitchers in MLB history (since 1901) with 30+ strikeouts and four or fewer walks through their first five career starts.

REVERSE SPLIT — Bradley’s is holding left-handed batters to a .179 (7-for39) average with one extra-base hit (2B), compared to a .304 (17-for-56) mark with 7 XBH (2 2B, 3B, 4HR) against right-handed batters…in five starts with Triple-A Durham this season, he held lefties to a .167 (4-for-24) average compared to a .372 (16-for-43) mark against righties.

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Rays
The Cubs and Rays meet for a three-game set at Wrigley Field for the second-straight year as Chicago dropped two-of-three to Tampa Bay at the Friendly Confines, April 18-20 … prior to 2022, the teams had met in 2017 with the clubs splitting two-game sets both at Wrigley Field and
Tropicana Field.

MEMORIAL DAY MATINEE: The Chicago Cubs today play the first of three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, looking to snap a four-game skid … the Cubs yesterday fell to the Reds 8-5 after holding a 3-2 lead entering the third inning – it mark Chicago’s 13th setback in which it held a lead at some point in the game … this is the seventh contest of a nine-game homestand that started with a series win against the New York Mets (2-1) before a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds (0-3).

Chicago owns a 110-104 all-time record on Memorial Day with its last victory on the holiday coming on May 31, 2021, vs. the Padres (7-2).

After the game on April 21, Chicago was 12-7 and 1.5 games behind the division lead … since, the club is 10-23 and enters today 5.5 games behind the division-leading Brewers, sitting at 28-25.

Following this series, the Cubs have Thursday off before a 10-game California swing at the Padres (4 games starting Friday), Angels (3 games starting next Monday) and Giants (3 games beginning June 9).

‘STRO SHOW AT HOME: Today’s Cubs starter Marcus Stroman has posted a 2.05 ERA (13 ER/57.0 IP) in his last nine starts at Wrigley Field dating to Sept. 16 of last season, recording quality starts in eight of those outings … he’s walked 17, struck out 52 and recorded a 0.93 WHIP in that span at Wrigley Field.

AT THE PLATE: The Cubs have drawn 201 free passes this season, third-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (233) and Padres (224) … that’s contributed to a .335 team OBP that ranks third in the majors and a .755 OPS that is fourth in the N.L. and seventh in the majors.

Ian Happ’s .396 OBP is eighth in the N.L. … his 37 walks are tied for fourth-most in baseball.

Dansby Swanson’s 30 walks are tied for ninth in the N.L.

Nico Hoerner’s 12 stolen bases are seventh in the Senior Circuit.

Patrick Wisdom’s 14 homers are fifth in the N.L. while his .556 slugging percentage is seventh.

MULTIPLICITY: Patrick Wisdom yesterday recorded his eighth career multi-homer effort and his third of the 2023 campaign … since the start of 2021, Wisdom has averaged one homer every 14.30 at-bats, the third-best mark in the N.L. in that span behind Kyle Schwarber (12.75) and Pete Alonso (14.02).

RUMINATIONS REGARDING RUNS: Chicago this season has surrendered two or fewer runs in 21 games, tied for the fourth-most such games in the majors behind only Seattle (23), Tampa Bay (22) and Texas (22).

The Cubs enter today having allowed eight or more runs in four-straight home games for the first time since July 31-Aug. 10, 2005, vs. Cincinnati (3 G) and Arizona (1 G).

The Cubs have allowed 10 or more runs in four of their last 14 games since May 13 after not doing so in the team’s first 38 contests to begin the season.

SUZUKI AT THE DISH: Seiya Suzuki has a .390 average (16-for-41) with a 1.042 OPS against lefties this year … Suzuki has hit .305 (18-for-59) with five doubles, five homers, 13 walks, a .425 OBP and a .644 slugging mark in his last 17 games since May 8.

Suzuki is hitting .296 (24-for-81) with six doubles, five homers, 10 runs, 13 RBI, 15 walks and a .402 OBP in 24 May contests … he hit .264 (19-for-72) with two doubles, a triple, two homers, 10 runs, right RBI, seven walks and a .333 OBP in 19 April games after he started the season on the 10-day I.L. with a left oblique strain.

SOMETHING OF QUALITY: Marcus Stroman’s 8.0 innings with two runs allowed on Wesdnesday marked Chicago’s 24th quality start of the season, the second-most in the N.L. (Pittsburgh, 25) and tied for seventh-most in the majors.

Stroman is tied for the major league lead with nine quality starts (also Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Houston’s Framber Valdez) … Justin Steele’s eight quality starts are tied for fourth-most in the majors.

ABOUT THE RELIEF ARMS: Chicago’s bullpen posted a 2.32 ERA (16 ER/62.0 IP) in 17 games from April 25-May 12 with a 0.97 WHIP, 18 walks and 44 strikeouts … following play on May 12, the Cubs bullpen had posted a 3.42 ERA (53 ER/129.1 IP), the eighth-best mark in the majors.

Since May 13, Chicago’s bullpen has posted an 8.05 ERA (45 ER/50.1 IP) in the team’s last 14 games, pitching to a 2.09 WHIP … however, the bullpen’s 10.73 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (60 SO/50.1 IP) in this span ranks third-highest in the N.L. and sixth-best in the majors.

FIRST FRAME FUNK: Including two runs allowed on Friday, the Cubs have surrendered first-inning runs in 11 of their last 17 games dating to May 9 (20 runs total) … Chicago has plated first-inning runs in four of those contests (6 runs total), including a run in Saturday’s first inning.

STINGY IN VICTORY: The Cubs have allowed two or fewer runs in 15 of their last 16 victories dating to April 14 … the lone win in that span in which Chicago allowed more than two runs came in a 10-4 win vs. the Cardinals on May 10.

PLAYING THE MARGINS: Chicago is 17-15 (.531) in games decided by three or more runs … however, the team is just 5-15 (.250) in games decided by two or fewer runs, the lowest winning percentage in the majors in those contests … that includes a 2-10 (.167) mark in one-run games.

Starting Pitcher – #0 RHP Marcus Stroman (4-4, 2.95)
Last Time Out
Marcus earned his fourth win of the season, tossing 8.0 innings while allowing four hits and two runs … was his longest outing of 2023 and was longest since his threw 8.0 frames on July 21, 2021 at Cincinnati while with the Mets … was his ninth outing of the year tossing at least 6.0 innings while allowing two earned runs or fewer … has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his last six starts … recorded his MLB-high-tying ninth quality start.

Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
5/24 NYM W, 4-2 8.0 4 2 2 2 3 88-59 4-2
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 3-3 2.68 6 6 37.0 24 11 11 12 34
Road 1-1 3.33 5 5 27.0 23 10 10 11 20
AVG vs. LHB: .181 (21-for-116) / AVG vs. RHB: .230 (26-for-113)

Marcus is scheduled to make his team-high 12th start of the 2023 season today, his seventh at home … dating to Aug. 30, 2022, has allowed two runs or fewer in 14 of his last 18 starts, pitching to a 2.63 ERA (31 ER/106.0 IP), the second-lowest ERA in the majors during that span (min. 18 GS) … his nine quality starts are tied for the major league lead this season and his 18 such outings since the All-Star break of last season are tied for third-most in the MLB … has made 32 career appearances (29 starts) in interleague play, going 11-10 with a 3.40 ERA (68 ER/180.0 IP).

Recorded his 1,000th career strikeout April 23 vs. Los Angeles (N.L.), retiring Freddie Freeman looking in the third inning.

Became the second Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 (also Jake Arrieta, 2016) with three outings of at least 6.0 scoreless innings in the team’s first 16 games.

Became the third Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 to allow two or fewer combined runs over his first four starts of a season (also Steve Stone, 1976; Jason Hammel, 2016).

Posted a 14.0-inning scoreless streak to begin the season, the fourth-longest by a Cubs pitcher since 1901.

Made his third career Opening Day start March 30 vs. Milwaukee (0 ER/6.0 IP), earning the win … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0
IP) in his three career Opening Day starts.

In three Cactus League starts with the Cubs, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts.

Made two starts for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP)

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