The Tampa Bay Rays travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers for the first of a quick two-game mid-week set. This will be an inter-league battle of two teams with playoff aspirations. Each is currently qualified as a wildcard team in their respective leagues but both are laboring as of late. The pitching matchup on Tuesday will likely feature lefty Ryan Yarbrough (0-6, 4.89) of the Rays, although they haven't announced a starter as of yet, taking on Brandon Woodruff (9-3, 3.49) of the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 810pm EST.
The Rays started slowly out of the break in the second half but have played well as of late, winning four of their last five games. Over the weekend, Tampa Bay took three of four games from the Tigers and now find themselves tied with the Mariners for the 2nd wildcard spot, just two games off of the pace of Toronto at the top of the wildcard standings. On Sunday, the Rays exploded in the 9th inning after battling through eight scoreless innings with the Tigers. The Rays scored seven runs in the 9th, highlighted by back-to-back walks with the bases loaded.
“When you go up there in the ninth inning of a scoreless game, your first impulse is to do something big,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It isn't easy to still have the patience to lay off close pitches, but that's what we were able to do. That turned into a fun inning.”
We walk out of Comerica Park with a series victory
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 7, 2022
The Rays pitching has picked up in the last ten games with a team ERA of 3.38. They have struck out 82 batters in 88 innings pitched and given up just 76 hits as a team. The Rays will likely turn to Yarbrough in this game, either starting the game directly or certainly coming in quickly after the designated opener starts the game. Yarbrough has made eight starts in his 12 appearances this year and the team has recently gone back and forth as far as starting him directly or inserting him in the game in the early innings. He will likely get the bulk of the innings for the Rays in this matchup. In July, Yabrough made three appearances and was 0-2 with a respectable 3.52 ERA. He last pitched on August against the Blue Jays, going four innings and allowing just one run on one hit.