An off day on Monday got here at an opportune time for the Tampa Bay Rays, and now they’re in place to sweep a two-game collection towards the Miami Marlins on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla
Entering their “Citrus Series,” the Rays had dropped seven of eight
Both groups had been off on Monday, and the Rays claimed the collection opener 4-1 on Tuesday. It was the Marlins‘ tenth straight highway loss
“Just how things were rolling in previous games,” Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe stated Tuesday after he homered and had three hits. “We were hitting balls hard, and getting out. We had some unlucky bounces here and there. Off day. Reset yourself and come in, and get some hits off the bat immediately, I feel like, relaxed this team a little bit.
The Marlins, 1-9 since the All-Star break, aim to salvage a split against one of the top teams in the majors
“There’s lots of challenges,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of the Rays. “They’re managed rather well. The teaching workers is one of the higher (staffs) in the league, if not the perfect in the league. … They have elite arms in the bullpen.
Wednesday’s finale comes with a quick turnaround, beginning at 12:10 p.m. native time.
Tampa Bay is going with Zach Eflin (11-5, 3.36 ERA), its most dependable starter. At dwelling, particularly, the right-hander has impressed, with a 10-1 document and a couple of.10 ERA.
The Marlins counter with Sandy Alcantara (3-9, 4.70)
The 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, Alcantara has offered innings, logging 126 1/3 in 20 begins, however has lacked consistency.
On the highway, the 27-year-old is 2-5 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 begins. A telling statistic from a 12 months in the past: He had a 2.63 ERA in day recreation begins. This season, the 6-foot-5 right-hander is 0-5 with a 4.98 ERA in matinees.
Eflin has fairly a bit of historical past going through the Marlins, relationship to when he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 16 video games (15 begins) towards Miami, he’s 5-7 with a 4.97 ERA in 88 2/3 innings
Eflin pitched a gem in his final begin, tossing seven shutout innings and scattering two hits and a stroll whereas hanging out eight in a 3-0 win over the visiting Baltimore Orioles.
“I don’t like overthinking things,” Eflin stated after beating Baltimore. “I don’t like overanalyzing things. So, for me, it was just flush it down the toilet and move on.”
Having an innings-eater like Eflin on the mound must be a lift for the Rays, who typically rely closely on their bullpen
Alcantara can be making his fifth profession begin towards Tampa Bay. In 22 innings, the Miami ace is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA.
In his final begin, he gave up 4 runs in the primary inning in a 6-4 loss at St. Louis. He did cool down after the primary, shutting the Cardinals out over the following 5 innings.
“I was missing a lot up in the zone, so when you miss there, they just want to see it and they swing (at it),” Alcantara stated concerning the first inning. “After that, I just battled inning by inning to try to not let them score more runs, and I did it.”
–Field Level Media
Discussion about this post