In what might be a preview of a series in October, the Tampa Bay Rays are on the road facing the Minnesota Twins and hoping to get a spark from rookie starting pitcher Taj Bradley.
Tampa Bay Rays (-130, 8.5) vs. Minnesota Twins
Bradley overall been a bit unlikely this year with a 5.44 ERA compared to a 4.44 fielding independent, but has had undeniable command issues with 3.5 walks and 1.8 home runs per nine innings allowed to offset his 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Rays have split Bradley’s time with the big league squad and in the minor leagues, and Bradley has struggled across the board with a 6.71 ERA in his last 11 starts with 2.1 home runs and 4.4 walks per nine innings allowed with the Rays going 4-7 in those starts.
The rookie Bradley faces a veteran with his fair share of issues in Dallas Keuchel, who has allowed at least five runs in two of his past four starts and overall has a 5.91 ERA in his five starts while not giving up any runs in the role of a reliever this season.
Since the All-Star Break the Twins offense has heated up, averaging more than 5.4 runs per game, the third-most runs per game in the span thanks in large part to hitting nearly 1.7 home runs per game in that span, the second-most in the American League in that stretch.
The Rays counter with a hot offense of their own, as in the 26 games entering Tuesday the team had played since Wander Franco has been away from the team since August 13, the team is fourth in the league in runs per game with just under six runs per game with a collective .353 on-base percentage in this span.
Both teams have had inconsistencies with their bullpens with the Rays 11th in bullpen ERA since the beginning of July and the Twins 21st in bullpen ERA in this stretch.
With both offenses hitting their peak and a pair of struggling starting pitchers going on Wednesday, this series finale will be overwhelming.
The Play: Rays vs. Twins Over 8.5
