The Tampa Bay Rays continue their current series Wednesday on the road against the Oakland Athletics.
The Rays won the opener of the series on Monday 1-0 for their third straight win. Johnny Venters posted his first save since August of 2011 as he struck out the only hitter he faced to end a 13-inning game against Oakland. Venters has been out of baseball six years following multiple Tommy John surgeries. Tampa Bay traded its closer Alex Colome last Friday to Seattle and could be leaning toward using Venters in that spot. Mallex Smith hit the RBI single in the 13th with two outs for the Rays. Ryne Stanek faced five hitters between the 12th and 13th and retired them all for the win.
Wilson Ramos leads Tampa Bay with a .310 batting average. C.J. Cron leads the team in home runs with 11, RBIs with 30 and hits with 54. Tampa Bay has a team batting average of .261, while opposing hitters are averaging .233 at the plate against Rays pitching. On Wednesday, the Rays will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound. The right-hander will be making his debut this season.
Jed Lowrie leads Oakland with a .303 batting average, a team high 63 hits, a team high nine home runs and 38 RBIs as Khris Davis remains on the DL. Oakland has a team batting average of .242 while opposing hitters are averaging .247 at the plate against Athletics pitching. On Wednesday, the A’s will send Sean Manaea to the mound. The left-hander this season is 5-5 with an ERA of 3.34, 53 Ks and 13 BBs.
