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In Tampa Bay the teams with the top two records in the league do battle as the Tampa Bay Rays play host to the Texas Rangers in a battle of veteran versus rookie starting pitchers.
Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays (-110, 8)
The rookie is Taj Bradley of the Rays, who’s 3.60 ERA is actually higher than his 2.80 fielding independent, surrendering three runs or fewer in six of his seven career starts and no more than four runs in any start while collecting 12.3 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings.
Bradley is supported by an offense that is second on in-base percentage and runs per game and third in home runs with the Rangers lineup he has to face leading the league in runs and on-base percentage, but also have the lesser bullpen.
While both bullpens have struggled, the struggles have been more rough recently for the Rangers as for the season the Rangers are 23rd in the league in bullpen ERA while the Rays are 20th in this category and the return of injured starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow seems to be helping to reduce the bullpen’s work load.
The Rays had the league’s worst bullpen ERA in the month of May while the Rangers were 29th among the 30 MLB teams due in large part to the Rays having to throw bullpen games two out of every five games with their injuries in the starting rotation, causing the bullpen to be used for more innings than any other bullpen in the league.
With the bullpen use reduced, the Rays relievers have been sharper recently, ranking eighth in the league in bullpen ERA the past 14 days while the Rangers rank 12th in that span.
For the Rangers, starter Nathan Eovaldi will look to keep the team’s bullpen use to a minimum as he has completed at least six innings in eight of his last nine starts with a 1.25 ERA in this span, but seems to be due for a bit of regression with getting 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings in this span and 2.49 fielding independent with an opponents batting average of .180 despite lots of balls in play.
The Rays have dazzled at home all season, posting a 29-6 record in Tampa Bay entering this series and behind a lineup that leads the league in on-base plus slugging and a bullpen that is improving, the rookie Bradley will lead the Rays to another home win.
The Play: Rays -110