The Tampa Bay Rays face the Houston Astros in a matchup of two of the best teams in the American League. The Rays have a 62-43 record which is second-best in the American League East Division but they've stumbled recently, going 5-15 in July. The Astros have a 58-45 record and with an 8-4 record since the All-Star break, they've leaped into second place in the American League West Division and are only a few games back of first place in the division. For the upcoming game, the Rays will turn to Taj Bradley as their starting pitcher, who has allowed nine runs in the last three starts while the Astros will turn to Hunter Brown who has allowed 11 runs in the last three starts.
The Rays are having a great season but their recent skid has them fighting for a wild card spot after they looked poised to cruise to the division title a few weeks back. Taj Bradley will start the upcoming game and he hopes to improve on a rough season as he has allowed 45 runs in 71.1 innings pitched. In addition, with a .423 expected opponent Slugging Percentage, a 46.9 Hard-Hit Percentage, and a 4.20 expected ERA, opponents are making hard contact and crushing pitches against Bradley to easily drive in runs.
Bradley has struggled on the mound but the lineup is one of the best in baseball, scoring 5.19 runs per game. Yandy Diaz is slashing .318/.401/.508 with 14 home runs and Luke Raley is slashing .273/.361/.547 with 15 home runs with 134 total bases but the rest of the lineup has stepped up as well. Isaac Paredes is slashing .256/.358/.491 with 18 home runs with 144 total bases while Jose Siri and Randy Arozarena have added 37 home runs and 280 total bases to add depth to the lineup, making the Rays tough to stop.