TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
50/50 SPLIT — Tampa Bay went 1-1 in yesterday’s doubleheader at Fenway Park, dropping game one, 8-5, before winning game two of the twin bill, 4-2…in game one, the Rays held a 4-1 heading into the home half of the sixth inning, but Boston scored six runs in the frame and added an insurance tally in the seventh inning…RHP Tyler Glasnow started game two and did not factor into the decision after tossing 5.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts…CF Jose Siri (1-for-3, 2B, RBI, SB), entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI-double…LF Harold Ramírez (3-for-5, 2 2B, 2RBI, R, SB) broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning
with a two-run double.
Wander Franco extended his season-best hitting streak to eight in game one, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and one steal…Franco has an MLB-best five games with 2+ doubles, ahead of TOR Matt Chapman and LAD Freddie Freeman with four each.
Harold Ramírez went a combined 5-for-8 with two doubles, 4 RBI and two runs in the twin bill…his three hits in game two matched a career-high (24x, last 5/16 at NYM)…after batting .087 (2-for-23) in seven games from 5/19-26, he is 10-for-25 (.400) over his last six games since 5/27.
Jose Siri was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his career as a pinch hitter before his go-ahead RBI-double in game two…the Rays are batting .345 (10-for-29) with a .472 on-base percentage in pinch-hit situations this season…their .472 OBP is best in the majors, while their .345 AVG is second best behind Washington (.385, 5-for-13).
RECENT TRANACTIONS — Following game one of yesterday’s doubleheader, the Rays reinstated RHP Shawn Armstrong from the 60-day IL and added him to the 26-man roster…additionally, RHP Robert Stephenson was added to the 26-man roster, RHP Trevor Kelley was optioned to Triple-A Durham and LHP Joe La Sorsa was designated for assignment.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN — The Rays have stolen 29 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 29 straight bases was Cleveland (36SB) from 8/11-9/17, 2021…the Rays have been successful on 43 of their last 45 stolen base attempts (95.5%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).
Tampa Bay’s 81 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 60 games since the 2009 Rays (91SB).
On the season, Tampa Bay leads the majors in both steals (81) and stolen base attempts (97) while ranking sixth in stolen base pct. (83.5%).
The Rays have an MLB-best six players with seven or more stolen bases, including Wander Franco (21SB), Taylor Walls (15SB), Josh Lowe (13SB), Randy Arozarena (7SB), Manuel Margot (7SB) and Luke Raley (7SB)…the next closest teams are Cleveland and Milwaukee with four players each.
THE BOY WANDER — Wander Franco has hit safely in a season-best eight straight games, surpassing his seven-game run from 5/5-11…he is batting .484 (15-for-31) with two doubles, one triple, 6 RBI and five walks against four strikeouts during the eight-game stretch…he also has seven stolen bases during the eight-game streak, bringing his season total to 21, third most in MLB behind OAK Esteury Ruiz (28SB) and ATL Ronald Acuña Jr. (24SB)…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.
He is batting .312 (34-for-109) with nine doubles, four triples, 6 HR, 23 RBI and 15 walks against 16 strikeouts in 29 career games against Boston…in 12 games at Fenway Park, he is hitting .356 (16-for-45) with two doubles, two triples, 2 HR and 6 RBI.
Franco’s 3.6 bWAR lead the majors, ahead of TOR Bo Bichette (3.3) and TEX Marcus Semien (3.3).
In addition to ranking second among major league shortstops in average (.305) and third in OPS (.860), Franco leads all SS in defensive runs saved (9), ahead of CHC Dansby Swanson (8) and BAL Jorge Mateo (7), according to FanGraphs.
FRIENDLY CONFINES — Brandon Lowe is a career .323 (53-for-164) hitter in 50 games against Boston, tallying nine doubles, one triple, 16 HR and 36 RBI…in 19 games at Fenway Park, he is batting .391 (25-for-64) with five doubles, 6 HR and 16 RBI.
Since 2018, among batters with at least 100 PA against the Red Sox, Lowe ranks among major league leaders in OBP (1st, .440), OPS (2nd, 1.123), SLG (2nd, .683), atbats per HR (2nd, 10.25), HR (3rd), extra-base hits (T7th) and RBI (T8th).
THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 103 home runs, tied for the sixth-most long balls through a club’s first 60 games in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 1999 Seattle Mariners (123HR), 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (118HR), 2019 Minnesota Twins (114HR), 2019 Milwaukee Brewers (104HR) and 2000 St. Louis Cardinals (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 30 multi-HR games, second most in the majors behind New YorkAL (31); 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.
SETTING THE TONE — The first three spots in Tampa Bay’s batting order rank among major league leaders in average (1st, .302), OBP (1st, .384), hits (2nd, 217), SLG (2nd, .522), OPS (2nd, .906), runs scored (3rd, 131), RBI (3rd, 122), HR (5th, 36) and hard-hit pct. (7th, 37.4%).
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.
BEANTOWN REPORT — The Rays and Red Sox meet for the seventh time this year, with Tampa Bay holding a 5-1 lead in the season series…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 47-26 (.644) against the Red Sox, including a 20-13 (.606) 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)
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (3-2, 3.60)
TALKIN’ TAJ — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 16 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) will make his seventh career start this afternoon vs. Boston, including his fourth on the road…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.
TOUGH LUCK — Fell to 3-2 on the season despite not allowing an earned run in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 Memorial Day defeat at Chicago-NL (5.2IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 8SO)…the lone run against him came around to score on a sacrifice fly following a throwing error by Taylor Walls.
Bradley joined Joe Ross (40SO, 4BB) as the only pitchers in MLB history (since 1901) with 40+ strikeouts and five or fewer walks through their first six career starts
WELCOME TO THE SHOW — 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…at the time, became the second Rays player to make their big league debut for the Rays in 2023, joining RHP Kevin Kelly on 4/1 vs. Detroit.
STRIKEOUT SAVANT — Bradley’s 42 strikeouts are the most through a pitcher’s first six starts as a member of the Rays in club history, ahead of Charlie Morton (39SO)…the last major league pitcher with more strikeouts through their first six career starts was MIL Freddy Peralta (46SO) from 5/13-7/6, 2018.
Since his debut on 4/12, Bradley’s 34.4 pct. strikeout rate is tied with LAA Shohei Ohtani for second highest among major league starters (min. 5GS), behind only ATL Spencer Strider (40.8%).
He is the first pitcher in Rays history to record 7+ strikeouts in four of his first six career games…the last major league pitcher to do so was Luis Castillo in 2017 (4G).
ROAD WARRIOR — He has pitched to a 1.13 ERA (16.0IP, 2ER) in three road starts, the second-lowest mark through a pitcher’s first three career starts as a visitor in club history, behind only Alex Colomé (0.57) from 5/30/13- 6/27/14…he is the first pitcher in Rays history to toss 5.0+ innings and allow two or fewer runs in each of his first three career road starts.
ONE TO REMEMBER — Bradley’s eight strikeouts on 4/12 vs. Boston were second most by a Rays player in his major league debut in club history, trailing only Wade Davis’ nine punch outs on 9/6/09 vs. Detroit…since the beginning of 2020, only Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie (10SO, 8/22/20 vs. DET) and Washington’s Joan Adon (9SO, 10/3/21 vs. BOS) have fanned more batters in their debuts.
After recording nine strikeouts over 5.1 scoreless innings on 4/18 at Cincinnati, Bradley became the first pitcher in American League history to strike out 8+ batters and earn the win in each of his first two career appearances.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have won 2 of their last 3 games following a 3-game losing streak. The Sox are 4-8 in their last 12 games, losing 2 of their previous 3 series (0-3 at LAA, 2-1 at ARI, 1-2 vs. CIN). At 30-28 (.517), the Sox rank 5th in the AL East and are 4.0 games back from the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Red Sox and Rays split a doubleheader yesterday to open their 4-game series… The Sox won Game 1 (8-5) and lost Game 2 (2-4). In Game 1, Justin Turner hit a bases-clearing double to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead in the 6th inning. In Game 2, the Red Sox tied the score 1-1 in the 4th inning and 2-2 in the 7th inning, but did not lead at any point…TB scored 2 deciding runs in the 9th inning.
COMEBACK KIDS: In Game 1 yesterday, the Red Sox trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the 5th inning…They scored a 8 runs between the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings to take an 8-5 lead. The Red Sox have 17 come-from-behind wins this season, tied for 3rd most in MLB (BAL-20, NYM-18). They have trailed in each of their last 3 wins.
THE BIG INNING: The Red Sox scored 6 runs in the 6th inning of Game 1 yesterday, turning a 4-1 deficit into a 7-4 lead. The Sox have scored 5+ runs in an inning 5 times in their last 15 games, beginning 5/17 vs. SEA.
SOX & RAYS: The Red Sox are 1-5 against the Rays this season…They’re 26-47 vs. TB since the start of 2019, their most losses to any opponent in that span. The Sox have won 4 of their last 5 home games vs. TB and 6 of their last 8…They’re 7-4 vs. TB at Fenway Park since the start of 2022. 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.
EASTERN STANDARD: The Red Sox are 7-2 against AL East opponents at Fenway Park this season, compared to 1-6 on the road. 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: After Friday’s game was postponed and rescheduled for tomorrow, the Red Sox will now play 13 games in 12 days, from 6/3-14. The Sox are currently in a span of 26 games in 27 days, from 5/30-6/25 (2-3 so far), including 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25. 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 20 games against opponents with a current winning percentage of .500 or better, tied for 4th most in MLB (TB-23, TOR-23, NYY-21). The Red Sox are 20-20 (.500) against teams that currently have a .500 winning percentage or better. 7 of the Sox’ 10 series from 6/2-7/6, are against opponents who are currently above .500 (vs. TB, at NYY, vs. NYY, at MIN, vs. MIA, at TOR, vs. TEX).
MACHO MAN: Through his first 50 MLB games, Masataka Yoshida has batted .314 with a .394 OBP/.505 SLG/.899 OPS. He leads the Red Sox with 22 multi-hit games…The only player in franchise history with more through 50 career games is Chick Stahl in 1901 (25). The only players with more multi-hit games than Yoshida this season are Freddie Freeman (25), Bo Bichette (25), Luis Arraez (23), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (23). This century, only 2 players have reached base 85+ times and struck out 25 or fewer times in their first 50 career games: Masataka Yoshida (2023), and Ichiro Suzuki (2001).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox are tied for the MLB lead in doubles (126), and rank top 5 in runs (4th, 303), AVG (5th, .264), OBP (3rd, .335), SLG (5th, .433), and OPS (5th, .768). Red Sox batters have struck out 463 times, 3rd fewest in the AL and 6th fewest in MLB.
FOUR SCORE AND…: Prior to Game 2 yesterday, the Red Sox scored 4 or more runs in 4 consecutive games, matching their longest streak since 4/29-5/6 (8 games). The Sox have scored 4+ runs in 4 of their last 5 games, after doing so in just 1 of their previous 7 games. BOS has scored 4+ runs in 38 games this season (28-10 record), 3rd most in the AL behind TB (43) and TEX (40).
EXTRA, EXTRA: The Red Sox have hit 23 XBH in their 5 games so far during the current 7-game homestand, after hitting 21 XBH over their 9-game road trip from 5/19-28. BOS ranks T-2nd in the AL and T-4th in MLB in XBH (202). The Sox have hit 4 or more XBH in 29 games, 3rdmost in MLB behind LAD (35) and TB (31). HOME COOKING: The Red Sox are 17-14 at Fenway Park…They’re 4-7 in their last 11 games at the venue, after going 11-3 in their previous 14.
RED SOX IN HOME GAMES
Stat MLB Rank
6.0 R/game 2nd
10.3 H/game 1st
4.1 XBH/game 1st
122 wRC+ 4th
Stat MLB Rank
.293 AVG 1st
.360 OBP 1st
.482 SLG 4th
.841 OPS 2nd
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 2nd in the AL and 3rd in MLB in SB% (84.6%, 33-for-39). The Sox ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% in 2022.
PITCHING IN: Red Sox pitchers have allowed 4 ER or fewer in 13 of their last 16 games, posting a 3.43 ERA and .217 opponent AVG in that span (53 ER/139.0 IP, 114-for-526). During that span, Sox relievers rank 4th in MLB in WHIP (1.08) and 5th in opponent AVG (.197).
CLOSE SHAVES: 6 of the Red Sox last 7 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer, including 3 one-run games and 2 two-run games. The Sox have played 27 games decided by 2 runs or fewer (13-14 record). Boston’s 10 losses by 1 run are tied for 3rd most in the AL behind CLE (16) and SEA (12).
TODAY’S STARTER: 89 TANNER HOUCK – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 3-4 5.30 10 10 52.2 31 7 17 50 1.27 .250
CAREER 12-13 3.62 63 30 198.2 80 15 69 214 1.16 .223
Allowed 4 runs over 4.0 IP on Sunday at ARI (6 H, 4 SO, 2 HR)…Retired each of his last 9 batters faced. Has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 8 of his 10 starts this season. The Sox are 17-12 in his 29 career starts…Allowed 3 ER or fewer in 27 of those. Owns a 3.52 (3 ER/7.2 IP) with 12 SO in 3 career games (1 start) vs. TB. Has allowed 0 HR to his last 284 RHH faced (last: José Abreu on 9/10/21)…He is the only pitcher to face 150+ RHH since the start of 2022 and allow 0 HR. Has an expected ERA of 3.79 (based on contact quality and quantity).
