The red-hot Tampa Bay Rays travel up the coast to take on the Boston Red Sox in a three-game weekend series in Boston. The Rays continue to battle it out with Toronto for the top of the AL Wildcard standings and both teams remain in the hunt for the AL East crown. Boston, meanwhile, appears to be waving the white flag on the 2022 season as they sit in last place in the AL East. The pitching matchup on Friday night will feature an opener for the Rays while the Red Sox will turn to Michael Wacha (8-1, 2.28). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm EST.
The Tampa Bay Rays are in a neck-and-neck battle with the Blue Jays for playoff positioning in the American League. Both teams are also back, somewhat, in the AL East chase behind the first-place Yankees. The Rays were 6-1 on their current home stand heading into the final game against the Angels on Thursday afternoon. With Drew Rasmussen getting the calling, the Rays manhandled the Angels to complete the series sweep. Rasmussen went 5.1 innings and allowed six hits and struck out nine batters to lead the Rays to their 6th straight win.
Keep rollin'#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/rwH9CritVO
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 25, 2022
Heading into the final game of the home stand, the Rays had lost just once and had outscored the Royals and Angels by a combined 29-12. On the mound, the Rays sported a phenomenal 1.09 ERA in those seven games, allowing just 38 hits in 66 innings. As a team, the Rays have also struck out 74 batters in those 66 innings. The likely starter/opener for Friday's game will be left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. Yarbrough is coming off a solid outing on Sunday against the Royals in which he threw 4.1 innings and allowed three hits and two runs, although neither was earned. After a tough stretch in the early part of the season, Yarbrough has found a groove over his last five appearances. He is 1-2 in that time with an ERA of 2.08. He has averaged a bit over four innings per outing in that time, with a high of six innings vs. the Orioles on July 28th.