Jun 19, 2018; Houston, TX, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (4) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays, routinely using relievers as starters to deal with a rash of injuries, are pitching their way to victories.
The Rays (37-40) go into a two-game interleague series against the Washington Nationals with the momentum of a three-game sweep of the American League East-leading Yankees. New York hadn’t lost three games in a row at any point all season, but the Rays pulled it off, capped with a 7-6 win in 12 innings on Sunday at Tropicana Field.
“That’s the best team in the league right now, them and the Astros … I think coming home from that we had confidence and it all carried over into that series,” said Rays rookie first baseman Jake Bauers, who won the game in the 12th inning.
Since beginning their experimental use of relievers as “openers” to start games, the Rays have a 3.07 ERA, and entering Sunday’s game, that edged the Yankees for the best ERA in baseball since May 19. They’ve won five of seven games to again challenge .500, and Sunday’s walkoff home run by Bauers was their second this season, after totaling one in three seasons from 2015 to 2017.
The Nationals (41-35) had gone 3-9 in their last 12 games before Sunday night’s rain-delayed game against the Phillies, dropping into third place in the National League East. They’ll send out Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 3.08 ERA), who has no wins in his last four starts and his ERA has risen from a sterling 2.10 to 3.08.
Gonzalez lasted only four innings in his last outing, giving up five hits and two runs against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. For his career against the Rays, he’s 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA, though he’s only faced Tampa Bay once since 2012. That was a rough 2015 start at Tropicana Field, lasting 3 1/3 innings and giving up five earned runs on eight hits, walking more batters than he struck out. For his career at Tropicana, he has an 11.25 ERA.
The Rays will have an actual starter on the mound in Blake Snell (9-4, 2.48), who is in line for an All-Star appearance after the first three months of his season. He has just one loss in his last seven starts, and while he has never faced the Nationals, he has generally fared well in interleague play, going 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA in eight career starts.
Tampa Bay, hoping to build on its current momentum, has a tough week ahead, with two games against Washingto, then another four against Houston to close out the homestand.
Washington goes from St. Petersburg to a weekend four-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies before returning home for a week.
The Rays got a head start with a Sunday afternoon game and the Nationals saw their prime-time game delayed by rain, keeping them on the field beyond midnight and still needing to fly to Florida for the two-game stopover.
