The Rays are doing it again
After a miserable May the Red Sox move into mid-June playing about .500. Which won’t help get them back on track but also is better than continuing to dig a deeper hole. Campbell looks better. So does Story.
Sandwiched in between two series against the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays visit Boston. The Rays, at 35-30 have moved into second place in the AL East and control a Wild Card if the season ended today. Boston, meanwhile…has some work to do. But there’s a lot of baseball left to play.
There is a chance of rain on Monday and Tuesday so will these games happen or be delayed? Maybe!
The Rays are rolling out, possibly, kinda, the weak part of their rotation over this series. It still looks better than say a trio of Giolitos but what can you do?
Shane Baz has given up three runs in three of his last five starts. The other two starts saw him yield five runs and one run. The problem? He’s really only going five innings a start. So he doesn’t get time to overcome a manageable number of runs allowed. This is where the Sox need to do what the Angels did to them last week: score early.
Ryan Pepiot and Lucas Giolito? Well, hope Bello goes deep Monday so the ‘pen is rested.
Zack Littell doesn’t really strike people out…just 52 Ks in 80 innings. Will his lack of strikeout stuff or the Red Sox tendency to go down by way of the K win out?
New faces — both to the roster and success — are leading the way for Tampa this year. Their best hitter? Jonathan Aranda slashing .321/.409/.495. While he’s in his fourth season, Aranda has really stepped it up. He’s joined by 21-year-old Junior Caminero (.262/.294/.519) as the power of the lineup.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday June 9: Shane Baz (4.96 ERA / 5.01 FIP) vs. Brayan Bello (3.91 ERA / 4.81 FIP)
Tuesday June 10: Ryan Pepiot (3.20 ERA / 4.34 FIP) vs. Lucas Giolito (6.42 ERA / 6.94 FIP)
Wednesday June 11: Zack Littell (3.68 ERA / 5.04 FIP) vs. Walker Buehler (5.18 ERA / 5.29 FIP)
When/Where to Watch
Monday June 9: 7:10 PM ET on NESN
Tuesday June 10: 7:10 PM ET on NESN
Wednesday June 11: 7:10 PM ET on NESN