The Tampa Bay Rays open a short two-game interleague series on the road Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tampa Bay is 77-48 following a 9-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Five pitchers for Tampa Bay combined to throw a seven-hit shutout against Chicago. Tampa Bay has won two straight and six of the last seven. The Rays are first in the American League East with a 4 ½-game lead over the New York Yankees.
Randy Arozarena is batting .274 to lead Tampa Bay and the left fielder has a team-high 115 hits. Second baseman Brandon Lowe has 29 home runs to lead Tampa Bay and designated hitter Austin Meadows has 88 RBIs to lead the club. First baseman Yandy Diaz is the leader in on-base percentage at .361. On Tuesday, Tampa Bay will send Drew Rasmussen to the mound. The right-hander is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.30, 32 Ks and 10 BBs.
The Philadelphia Phillies improved to 63-61 following a 7-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Rhys Hoskins returned from the injury list and hit a pair of home runs and Kyle Gibson threw eight strong innings to help lead the Phillies to the victory. Philadelphia is second in the National League East five games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.
Jean Segura is batting .295 to lead Philadelphia and the shortstop has a team-high 109 hits. First baseman Rhys Hoskins is the leader in home runs with 26 and RBIs with 70, while right fielder Bryce Harper is the leader in on-base percentage at .410. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies will send Ranger Suarez to the mound. The left-hander is 5-4 with an ERA of 1.47, 53 Ks and 24 BBs.
