On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays (21-22, 3rd AL East) conclude a four-game series on the road against the Los Angeles Angels (25-20, 3rd AL West).
Tampa Bay has won five straight after beating the Angels on Friday 8-3. The Rays were led by two home runs and three RBIs by Wilson Ramos. Blake Snell upped his record to 5-3 allowing just two runs over 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts. Four Tampa Bay players each had one RBI on the night. Nick Tropeano took the loss as the Angels starter fell to 1-3 after allowing six hits and three runs with four walks in just 2 2/3 innings. Tampa Bay’s Matt Duffy missed Friday’s game with a hamstring issue but is expected back for both Saturday and Sunday. Angels’ Justin Upon sat out after being hit by a pitch on Thursday but should play over the weekend.
Mallex Smith leads Tampa Bay with a .315 batting average. C.J. Cron leads the team in hits with 48, home runs with 11 and RBIs with 27. Tampa Bay has a team batting average of .268 while opposing hitters are averaging .241 at the plate against Rays pitching. Tampa Bay has not yet announced its starting pitcher for Sunday’s game.
Andrelton Simmons leads the Angels with a .338 batting average and 54 hits. Mike Trout has the team lead in home runs with 13 and Justin Upton lead in RBIs with 34. Los Angeles has a team batting average of .252 while opposing hitters are averaging .246 at the plate against Angels pitching. On Sunday, the Angels will send Shohei Ohtani to the mound. The right-hander this season is 3-1 with an ERA of 3.58, 43 Ks and 13 BBs.
