The Tampa Bay Rays (28-7, 22-13 RL, 19-13-3 O/U) collide with the Baltimore Orioles (22-12, 22-12 RL, 20-13-1 O/U) in the second of a three-game series divisional on Tuesday evening. The Rays send Michael Wacha to the mound. The Orioles will reply with Grayson Rodriguez. The Rays went 10-9 against the Orioles last season.
The Rays will have Zach Eflin on the mound on Tuesday evening. Eflin was outstanding last time out, sailing through seven shutout innings against the Pirates, and was credited with another win. The veteran has been stellar, conceding two or fewer runs in each start, and is sporting a stellar 2.25 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP complimented by a 4-0 record in 28 innings. Eflin has only made two career outings against the Orioles, allowing six runs with a 1-1 record in 13 innings.
Tampa Bay will be challenged with a demanding schedule. They are in the early stages of a daunting 10-game road trek that takes them to Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. The Rays won their previous road series, collecting three wins in four meetings against the White Sox. They won two of three home clashes against the Yankees on the weekend and have only lost two series all seasn.
Sending the Rays faithful home happy pic.twitter.com/5Hr4Rdk1H3
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 7, 2023
Randy Arozarena continues to dazzle at the plate, launching four homers and six RBIs in his last seven games. The 28-year-old star now has nine bombs along with 30 RBIs and a dazzling .991 OPS. Arozarena was dominant against Baltimore last year, knocking in 16 runs with a 1 OPS.
Tampa Bay continues to lead the Major Leagues with 6.43 runs per game. The pitching staff is sporting an elite 3.01 team ERA.