TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
WINDY CITY BLUES — The Rays dropped their second consecutive game on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, allowing the go-ahead run in the sixth frame in a 2-1 loss to the Cubs…after a first-inning homer by Chicago, Tampa Bay tied the contest at 1-1 with an RBI-single off the bat of LF Randy Arozarena (1-for-3, RBI) in the fifth inning, but were unable to plate the tying run the rest of the way…LHP Shane McClanahan (5.2IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 7SO) fell to 8-1, suffering his first loss since 10/1/22 at Houston.
The Rays have been held homerless in back-to-back games — the only other time that has happened this season was 4/24-26 (3G)…Tampa Bay has plated just one run over the first two games of the series, its fewest in any two-game span on the road since 6/16-17, 2022 (also 1R).
After winning nine of their first 12 away games to open the season, the Rays have gone 4-9 over their last 13 contests in visiting ballparks, despite outscoring the opposition, 62-61 (+1), in that span…seven of those nine losses have been one-run defeats, and none have come by more than three runs.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING — The Rays are looking to avoid being swept for the first time this season…were last swept from 10/3-5, 2022 at Boston…the Rays are 12-4-1 in series play, including 9-1-0 at home and 3-3-1 on the road…have gone 0-3-1 over their last three road series dating back to 5/8, posting a 4-8 mark overall as a visitor in that span.
A loss today would mark Tampa Bay’s first time being swept by Chicago-NL in franchise history…it would also signal the Rays first sweep at the hands of an NL club since 8/9-10, 2022 at Milwaukee.
A defeat would also mark the Rays first three-game losing streak of the season… they are currently the only major league club that has not had a losing streak of 3+ games in 2023.
CLOSE SHAVES — Eighteen of Tampa Bay’s last 26 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including 15 one-run games in that span…the Rays are 14-12 overall in that stretch, including 6-9 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 10-10 in one-run games — only Cleveland (11-14) has more one-run wins among AL clubs…the Rays have played in four straight one-run games, matching their longest streak of the season (also: 5/4-7)…Tampa Bay has not had a longer stretch of one-run games since 6/15-19, 2022 (5G).
Each of the Rays last four road games have been one-run losses, matching the longest such streak in club history (also: 7/22-26, 2016).
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS — The Rays are 8-3 when facing left-handed starting pitchers this season…Tampa Bay leads the majors in several categories against left-handed pitching, including AVG (1st, .311), OBP (.372), SLG (.583) and OPS (.956).
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 five stolen bases during the streak, bringing his season total to 20, third most in MLB behind OAK Esteury Ruiz (27SB) and ATL Ronald Acuña Jr. (22SB)…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 lead the majors, ahead of TEX Marcus Semien (3.1).
In addition to ranking second among major league shortstops in average (.298) and OPS (.844), trailing only TOR Bo Bichette (.331 AVG, .893 OPS) in both categories, Franco leads all SS in defensive runs saved (8), ahead of CHC Dansby Swanson (7), according to FanGraphs.
Franco has also been one of the majors’ best contact hitters — his 13.2 pct. whiff rate is third lowest in the AL and sixth lowest in MLB…he is offering at only 23.9 pct. of pitches outside of the strike zone, the lowest chase rate of his career.
CAN’T CATCH ME — The Rays have stolen 23 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 23 straight bases was San Francisco from 6/18-8/24, 2022…the Rays have been successful on 37 of their last 39 stolen base attempts (94.8%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).
Tampa Bay’s 75 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 57 games since the 2009 Rays (90SB)…prior to that, the last team with 75+ steals through 57 games was the 1999 Houston Astros (77SB).
On the season, Tampa Bay leads the majors in both steals (75) and stolen base attempts (91) while ranking seventh in stolen base pct. (82.4%)
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, 75SB) currently pace MLB in both categories, ahead of Los Angeles-NL (93HR) and Pittsburgh (58SB), respectively.
INTERLEAGUE INTEL — The Rays 13-7 (.650) mark against NL clubs ties Milwaukee (13-9) for the most Interleague wins in MLB and signals the fourth-best Interleague winning percentage in the AL, trailing New York-AL (9-3, .750), Detroit (11-5, (.688) and Toronto (8-4, .667)…following a seven-game losing streak from 6/28-8/10, 2022, Tampa Bay has won 15 of its last 22 Interleague matchups dating back to 8/30/22.
Rays hitters are slashing .270/.339/.481 with 35 homers against the NL…they rank among major league leaders in Interleague home runs (T1st), SLG (2nd), OPS (2nd, .820), AVG (4th), OBP (4th) and runs per game (4th, 5.65).
SETTING THE TONE — The first three spots in Tampa Bay’s batting order lead the majors in average (.303), hits (205) and OBP (.387) while ranking in SLG (2nd, .527), OPS (2nd, .914), runs scored (2nd, 127), RBI (T2nd, 117), hard-hit pct. (4th, 38.8%) and HR(4th, 36).
THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 101 home runs, tied for the fourth-most long balls through a club’s first 57 games in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 1999 Seattle Mariners (114HR), 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (108HR) and 2019 Minnesota Twins (108HR)…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 29 multi-HR games, tied with New York-AL for most in the majors; they are 24-5 in those contests…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in MLB, ahead of Los Angeles-NL (15G); they had 13 games with 3+ HR in 2022.
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 split its last six games against Chicago-NL (3-3) despite a +10 run differential (25-15) in that span…the Rays are 6-7 at this venue all-time, including 2-2-1 in series play.
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP ZACH EFLIN (7-1, 3.17)
TODAY’S START — Right-hander Zach Eflin makes his 10th start of the season, including his fourth on the road…has tossed 5.0+ innings in each of his last 10 starts, the second-longest streak of his career (12GS: 9/18/20-5/24/21)…his 3.17 ERA is the second lowest through his first nine games of a season in his career, behind only his 2019 campaign (2.89).
LAST TIME OUT — Spun 7.0 frames of one-run ball in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 victory over Toronto on 5/25 at Tropicana Field (7.0IP, 6H, ER, 2BB)… allowed an RBI-single in the opening inning before settling in to hold the Blue Jays scoreless the rest of the way…recorded 13 groundouts, second most in any outing in his career (most: 14 on 5/11/19 at KC).
Eflin became the fourth pitcher in Rays history to throw 7.0+ innings without a strikeout, including the first since Mark Hendrickson (7.1IP on 4/9/04 vs. BAL).
TALKIN’ BOUT CHI-TOWN — Eflin has made five career starts opposite the Cubs, going 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA (31.2IP, 8ER), including 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA (26.2IP, 5ER) in four starts at Wrigley Field…it marks the fourth-lowest ERA at Wrigley Field among active pitchers (min. 25.0IP), behind only David Robertson (1.37), Scott Effross (1.47) and Ryan Tepera (1.64)… Eflin has not allowed a home run in this venue.
The righty is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (14.0IP, 3ER), 0.50 WHIP, 18 strikeouts and zero walks in two Interleague starts this season (5/4 vs. PIT, 5/20 vs. MIL)…has held opponents to a .149/.149/.298 (7-for47) clip in those games.
GOING DEEP — Eflin has tossed 7.0+ innings in back-to-back starts for the first time since 9/18/20-4/4/21 (3GS)…has gone 6.0 or more innings in each of his last five starts, the third-longest streak of his career behind a six-game streak (6/24-7/22, 2016) and a 12-start run (9/18/20-5/24/21).
He has thrown 5.0+ innings in 10 straight starts dating back to 6/25/22, the second-longest streak of his career (12GS: 9/18/20- 5/24/21)…during the streak, Eflin is 8-1 with a 3.20 ERA (59.0IP, 21ER), 55 strikeouts and nine walks (6.11 SO/BB).
Eflin has typically been at his best deep into his outings, registering a 4.50 ERA (36.0IP, 18ER) in innings 1-4 compared to a 0.50 ERA (18.0IP, 1ER) from the fifth inning on.
WINNERS WIN — Eflin is the second pitcher in Rays history to win seven of his first eight decisions with the club, joining Charlie Morton (8-0 from 3/29-6/10, 2019)…Morton is also the only pitcher in club history to win eight of his first nine decisions with Tampa Bay (8-1).
QUALITY CONTROL — Eflin’s 7.43 SO/BB ratio is second-best in the majors (min. 50.0IP) behind only SEA George Kirby (8.50)…he joins Kirby (51SO, 6BB) as the only pitchers in MLB with 50+ SO and seven or fewer walks.
Eflin has walked two or fewer batters in each of his last 12 starts since 6/14/2022, the second-longest streak of his career (longest: 33GS, 8/29/20-6/3/22)…overall, the righty has issued two or fewer walks in 45 of his last 46 starts dating back to 8/29/2020.
This season, Eflin’s 3.32 pct. walk rate is third lowest in the majors (min. 50.0IP), trailing only SF Anthony DeSclafani (3.30%) and Kirby (2.36%)…since the beginning of 2020, Eflin’s 4.38 pct. walk rate is the lowest in MLB (min. 1,000BF), ahead of TEX Nathan Eovaldi (4.45%).
GONE FISHING — Opposing hitters are offering at 34.6 pct. of Eflin’s pitches outside of the strike zone, the fourth-highest chase rate in the majors (min. 150BF) behind MIN Joe Ryan (37.2%), NYY Domingo Germán (35.5%) and TOR Kevin Gausman (35.0%).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE — Eflin’s curveball has induced a 31.9 pct. whiff rate, seventh-highest on any AL pitcher’s curve (min. 150 curveballs thrown)…his 28.4 pct. putaway percentage (pct. of two-strike pitches resulting in a strikeout) is fifth-highest under the same parameters.
His 25.6 pct. usage rate on the offering is fifth-highest on any AL pitcher’s curve (min. 700 total pitches thrown)…it marks the highest usage rate on his curveball of his career, ahead of the 2022 season (20.1%).
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.
CUBS PREVAIL IN CLOSE CALLS: The Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays today play the final contest of a three-game set after the Cubs took the first two games by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 … prior to this series vs. the Rays, Chicago had dropped its previous eight one-run decisions following a 3-2 win at the Dodgers on April 16.
Today’s contest wraps up a nine-game homestand that has featured series wins vs. the Mets (2-1) and Rays (2-0 with today’s series finale) sandwiched around a three-game series sweep at the hands of the Reds.
The Cubs have tomorrow off ahead of a 10-game California swing at the Padres (4 games starting Friday), Angels (3 games starting Monday) and Giants (3 games beginning June 9).
After the game on April 21, Chicago was 12-7 and 1.5 games behind the division lead … since, the club is 12-23 and enters today 4.0 games behind the division-leading Brewers, sitting at 28-26.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE GLOVES: The Cubs have turned 55 double plays this season, tied for third-most in the majors with the Giants behind only the Orioles (61) and Rockies (58) … Chicago has recorded at least one double play in six of the its last seven games since May 24.
Dansby Swanson has gone 37-consecutive games at shortstop since April 20 without committing an error (132 TC) … according to fangraphs, his seven defensive runs saved rank second among major league shortstops (Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco has eight).
STINGY IN VICTORY: The Cubs have allowed two or fewer runs in 17 of their last 18 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 7-15 (.318) in games decided by two or fewer runs, the lowest winning percentage in the majors in those contests … that includes a 4-10 (.286) mark in one-run games.
A TIMELY RBI, OR TWO, OR THREE…: Mike Tauchman has recorded game-winning RBI in each of the first two games of this Rays series and has three game-winning RBI (also May 24 vs. the Mets) in his first 11 contests with the team since he was selected from Iowa May 19.
Tauchman since being selected has batted .345 (10-for-29) with a double, three runs, three RBI and six walks to contribute to a .459 on-base percentage.
MONTHLY MATTERS: Chicago is 10-17 in May after opening the year with a 14-13 record in March/April … here’s a look at the numbers
2023 AVG OBP SLG R/G BB SO ERA IP ER BB SO
Mar/April .276 .347 .448 5.4 95 224 3.64 239.2 97 91 249
May .233 .320 .380 3.7 112 273 4.83 238.1 128 72 204
A CLUTCH PERFORMANCE: Adbert Alzolay last night preserved the 2-1 win with 2.0 shutout innings and four strikeouts to earn the save … did you know that’s the second time he’s spun at least 2.0 shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn a save? … on Sept. 1, 2021, he allowed one hit with five strikeouts in 4.0 shutout frames to earn the save in a 3-0 win at Minnesota.
SOMETHING OF QUALITY: Marcus Stroman on Monday tossed Chicago’s 25th quality start of the season, tied for the most in the N.L. with Pittsburgh and tied for sixth-most in the majors.
Stroman leads the majors with 10 quality starts this season … teammate Justin Steele is tied for fourth in baseball with eight quality starts.
RUMINATIONS REGARDING RUNS: Chicago this season has surrendered two or fewer runs in 23 games, tied for the second-most such games in the majors behind only today’s opponent, Tampa Bay (24).
Chicago’s six shutouts are tied for third-most in the majors behind Toronto (8) and Tampa Bay (8).
The Cubs have allowed 10 or more runs in four of their last 16 games since May 13 after not doing so in the team’s first 38 contests to begin the season.
AT THE PLATE: The Cubs have drawn 207 free passes this season, third-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (238) and Padres (232) … that’s contributed to a .333 team OBP that ranks sixth in the majors and a .748 OPS that is fifth in the N.L.
Following 10 runs on 12 hits May 19 in Philadelphia, the Cubs have batted .196 (61-for-311) with 29 runs scored in their last 10 games.
Ian Happ’s .397 OBP is seventh in the N.L. … his 38 walks are tied for fourth-most in baseball.
Dansby Swanson’s 31 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 .538 slugging percentage is ninth.
ABOUT THE RELIEF ARMS: The bullpen last night spun 4.0 scoreless frames while allowing one hit and no walks, striking out four … the ‘pen had allowed 15 earned runs in 18.2 innings in its previous four games.
Starting Pitcher – #35 LHP Justin Steele (6-2, 2.77)
Last Time Out
Justin suffered his second loss of the season May 26 vs. Cincinnati and his first at Wrigley Field since July 31, 2022 … allowed a season-high 10 hits and season-high-tying five earned runs … lost his 17-start streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at Wrigley Field, which dated to April 24, 2022 … was his second start of 2023 in which he did not complete 6.0 innings or more.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
5/26 CIN L, 0-9 3.2 10 6 5 0 4 70-51 0-6, 2 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 4-1 2.65 6 6 34.0 33 11 10 10 27
Road 2-1 2.90 5 5 31.0 23 12 10 6 30
AVG vs. LHB: .226 (12-for-53) / AVG vs. RHB: .239 (44-for-184)
Justin is making his 12th start of the 2023 season today and his seventh at Wrigley Field … has posted a 2.12 ERA (24 ER/101.2 IP) since July 22, 2022, which is the second-lowest ERA in the majors during the run (min. 18 GS) … his 2.77 ERA in 2023 is the fifth-lowest in N.L among qualified pitchers … has a 2.73 ERA (32 ER/105.1 IP) in 20 starts at Wrigley Field since the beginning of the 2022 season … is one of five N.L. pitchers with at least six wins … opposing batters are hitting .195 (15-for-77) with 25 strikeouts off his slider.
Had a 17-start streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at Wrigley Field from April 24, 2022-May 10, 2023 … pitched to a 2.20 ERA (23 ER/94.0 IP) during the run … his 2.20 home ERA during the stretch was the third-lowest in the N.L.
Went eight starts before suffering his first loss of the season May 16 in Houston … allowed a season-high five runs in the outing … at the time of his first loss, was the only pitcher in the N.L. with at least six wins and zero losses.
Allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14-straight starts from July 22, 2022-May 5, 2023, tied for the second-longest stretch in Cubs franchise history (since 1901), behind Jack Taylor’s streak of 15 games June 13-Aug. 14, 1902 (tied with Jake Arrieta, 14 G, 7/30/15-4/4/16).
Went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER/13.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts in four Cactus League starts in 2023 … started and tossed the first 2.0 innings of the Cubs combined no-hitter, March 3 at San Diego.
