Hitting the midway point of a four-series homestand, the Tampa Bay Rays play host to the visiting Boston Red Sox for the first of a three-game set on Monday.
Tampa Bay is looking to take advantage of a heavy home portion of its schedule as a result of the Hurricane Milton-caused destruction of Tropicana Field and its new home at the outdoor George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Rays enter play winners in two of three games after a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves, including Sunday’s 8-3 victory.
In what has proven so far to be a hitter-friendly ballpark, the Rays launched six homers in the series, including Junior Caminero’s three-run shot in the sixth inning on Sunday — his second in as many games. Tied with Brandon Lowe for the team lead (three home runs), Caminero and company hope to see the momentum roll over into series with the Red Sox and Yankees.
“We just need to keep our focus on the teams that are coming ahead,” Caminero said through a translator postgame. “With Boston and the Yankees, we need to keep our winning mentality and be ready for them.”
After Sunday’s starter Joe Boyle threw five no-hit innings against Atlanta, Shane Baz (1-0, 1.38 ERA) looks for similar success. The 25-year-old right-hander has surrendered just two earned runs in 13 innings this season, and is coming off a seven-inning, two-run output in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on April 8. The Rays lost 4-3.
In two career starts against Boston (both in 2024), Baz is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA.
The Red Sox enter the matchup losers in five of their last seven games, but they salvaged their series with the lowly Chicago White Sox on Sunday, posting a 3-1 win after dropping the first two games.
Garrett Crochet took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against his former team before earning the victory, while Trevor Story finished with three hits, including his third home run of the season.
“Today was a big day for us, just to get a ‘W’ and move on,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We needed to end a losing streak and (Crochet) pitched a great game and we played a lot better.”
Now looking to string consecutive wins together for the first time since a five-game winning streak at the beginning of April, Boston turns to Tanner Houck (0-1, 4.41), who gets the start on Monday.
Houck had his best outing of the early part of the season last time out, surrendering just one earned run through 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, before the Red Sox fell 2-1 in 11 innings. Houck, 28, has made eight career appearances (six starts) against Tampa Bay, posting a 1-4 record and a 4.18 ERA.
Boston won’t meet the Rays again until June 9, when it hosts Tampa Bay for a three-game set.
–Field Level Media
