The Tampa Bay Rays experienced three of their quietest nights at the plate against the Baltimore Orioles earlier this week.

The Rays shrugged it off and resumed producing big results at the plate in the series opener against the New York Yankees. They will now attempt to enjoy another successful hitting display Friday night when the American League East foes continue a four-game series.

Division-leading Tampa Bay went 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position while dropping two of three to the Orioles, just the Rays’ third series loss of the season. After getting blanked for the first four innings Thursday, the Rays cruised to an 8-2 rout for their third win in four meetings with the Yankees this year.

“It’s just part of the game, it happens,” Tampa Bay right fielder Josh Lowe said. “We ran into a hot Baltimore pitching staff there and they were doing their job, but we know the guys we have in this clubhouse and everybody else, we go out there and put up nights like (Thursday).”

The Rays collected eight of their 11 hits against New York’s relievers, highlighted by a big night from Lowe. He scored the game’s first run on Yandy Diaz’s double in the fifth, then hit a bases-clearing double in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth to collect a career-best five RBIs.

“Whether it’s the Yankees or anyone else in the AL East, it doesn’t matter,” Lowe said of being nine games up on the Yankees. “We’re trying to win as many ballgames as we can to separate ourselves from everybody else. So we’re going to do what we can to go out there and win a lot of ballgames.”

The Rays may be forced to pursue their next win without star shortstop Wander Franco, who is day-to-day due to neck tightness. Franco had two hits on Thursday before exiting in the fifth inning.

Gleyber Torres hit a two-run double in the ninth, but the last-place Yankees were held to two runs or fewer for the 14th time. The rough night at the plate came after they scored 28 runs in a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge struck out three times on Thursday in his third game back from a strained right hip.

“We got to come up with a better game plan in the box and execute it,” Judge said.

The Yankees hope they can produce better results at the plate in support of right-hander Gerrit Cole, who is coming off his worst outing this season.

Cole (5-0, 2.09 ERA) saw his ERA climb from 1.35 on Sunday when he allowed season highs of six runs, five earned runs and eight hits in a season-low five-plus innings against Tampa Bay.

Cole also served up his first two homers of the season when Jose Siri hit a solo homer in the fifth inning and Christian Bethancourt slugged a three-run shot in the sixth — hits that helped the Rays eventually get an 8-7 win on a single by Isaac Paredes in the 10th.

“That’s awful,” Cole said Sunday. “I’ve got to find a way to do a better job to get us out of there and get us a little bit deeper and prevent the runs.

Cole is 2-7 with a 3.80 ERA in 16 career starts against the Rays, who have homered 12 times in 97 innings against him to counter their .218 batting average and .645 OPS in their encounters with him.

Tampa Bay will use an opener, with right-hander Trevor Kelley (0-1, 9.00 ERA) expected to make the start. The bulk reliever might be Josh Fleming (0-0, 4.55 ERA), who allowed six runs in five innings against the Yankees on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Nathan Eovaldi recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 scoreless innings as the visiting Texas Rangers handled the Oakland Athletics 4-0 in the opener of a four-game series on Thursday.

Manager Bruce Bochy made a triumphant return to the San Francisco Bay Area as the Rangers won for the fifth time in seven tries on a 10-day Western swing.

Marcus Semien, Robbie Grossman and Jonah Heim — all former Athletics — combined for three hits and three runs.

Eovaldi (5-2) allowed just three hits and one walk while coming within one out of his second shutout of the season. He has not allowed a run in his past three outings, covering 25 2/3 innings.

The A’s forced Bochy, making his Bay Area homecoming after having spent 13 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, to call upon Will Smith out of the bullpen in the ninth after Esteury Ruiz lashed a two-out double and Eovaldi walked Ryan Noda. Smith struck out Brent Rooker for his seventh save.

Before Ruiz’s second hit of the night in the ninth, Eovaldi had allowed just three baserunners, two of whom were gunned down by Heim trying to steal. Eovaldi had faced just one batter over the minimum until Ruiz’s double.

Eovaldi’s 12 strikeouts were one more than his previous career-high total set for the Boston Red Sox against the Seattle Mariners on May 22, 2022.

Promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas to make the start, A’s right-hander Luis Medina (0-2) matched zeros with Eovaldi through four innings before a single by Josh Jung, a wild pitch and a two-out RBI single by Leody Tavares put the Rangers up 1-0 in the fifth.

The visitors tacked on two in the sixth on Semien’s seventh homer of the season and on a wild pitch that scored Grossman, who had doubled.

Heim doubled and completed the scoring in the seventh on an RBI infield out by Sam Huff, who was making his season debut.

Medina was pulled after six innings, charged with three runs on five hits. He struck out three and issued no walks.

Jung joined Ruiz as the only players in the game with multiple hits as the Rangers out-hit the A’s 7-3.

–Field Level Media

Casey Schmitt had four hits, including his second home run in his first three major league games, and the San Francisco Giants opened a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 6-2 win on Thursday in Phoenix.

Alex Cobb (3-1) tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings for the Giants, who led 2-0 before scoring four runs in the top of the ninth. The right-hander allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

Schmitt, who was promoted from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, also singled twice, doubled and drove in three runs. He is 8-for-12 to begin his career, tying Willie McCovey for the most hits by a Giants player in his first three games.

Schmitt gave the Giants an early lead with a two-run homer to left field in the second inning against Tommy Henry (1-1). The 443-foot blast landed in the second deck and scored Michael Conforto, who was on after drawing a one-out walk.

Henry was lifted after giving up two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two while throwing 97 pitches.

The D-backs lost their third straight game and grounded into three inning-ending double plays.

Arizona had runners on the corners with one out in the second before Cobb induced a double-play grounder from Gabriel Moreno.

Moreno bounced into another inning-ending double play in the fifth against Cobb, who has given up a total of four runs over his past five starts covering 33 1/3 innings.

The D-backs threatened again in the sixth inning following back-to-back two-out singles by Josh Rojas and Ketel Marte, but Cobb escaped the jam when Pavin Smith flied out to right field.

Tyler Rogers relieved Cobb with one on and one out in the eighth and quickly erased the baserunner when Marte grounded into a double play.

Schmitt sparked a four-run rally in the ninth inning with an RBI double against Jose Ruiz. Joey Bart followed with a run-scoring single, Schmitt scored on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s fielder’s-choice grounder, and Bart crossed the plate on Bryce Johnson’s sacrifice fly.

Dominic Fletcher had three hits and helped Arizona avoid the shutout with a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth against Cole Waites.

–Field Level Media

Nathan Eovaldi recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 scoreless innings as the visiting Texas Rangers handled the Oakland Athletics 4-0 in the opener of a four-game series on Thursday.

Manager Bruce Bochy made a triumphant return to the Bay Area as the Rangers won for the fifth time in seven tries on a 10-day Western swing. Bochy managed the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles over 13 seasons with the club.

Eovaldi (5-2) allowed just three hits and one walk while coming within one out of his second shutout of the season. He has not allowed a run in his past three outings, covering 25 2/3 innings.

Promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas to make the start, A’s right-hander Luis Medina (0-2) matched zeros with Eovaldi through four innings before giving up a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Medina was charged with three runs on five hits in his six innings. He struck out three and issued no walks.

Royals 4, White Sox 3

Freddy Fermin and host Kansas City squeezed by Chicago for a walk-off win on a rainy afternoon.

With runners at the corners and one out in the ninth inning, Fermin executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt, scoring Nick Pratto for the Royals’ first walk-off win since Sept. 7, 2022 — 2-1 over the Cleveland Guardians.

Scott Barlow (1-2) earned the win, pitching a hitless top of the ninth. Kansas City starter Brady Singer threw six innings, allowing a run on five hits, striking out four and walking two. White Sox starting pitcher Mike Clevinger allowed three runs on three hits, walking two and striking out two in six innings.

Giants 6, Diamondbacks 2

Casey Schmitt had four hits, including his second home run in his first three major league games, and San Francisco opened a four-game series against Arizona with a win in Phoenix.

Alex Cobb (3-1) tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings for the Giants, who led 2-0 before scoring four runs in the top of the ninth. The right-hander allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

Tommy Henry (1-1) was lifted after giving up two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks. He walked two and struck out two while throwing 97 pitches. The D-backs lost their third straight game and grounded into three inning-ending double plays.

Rays 8, Yankees 2

Drew Rasmussen struck out Aaron Judge three times and pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball as visiting Tampa Bay routed New York in the opener of a four-game series.

Josh Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs for the Rays, who beat the Yankees for the third time in four meetings this season. Taylor Walls added an RBI double in the seventh and Isaac Paredes contributed a run-scoring double in the eighth as the Rays became the first team to reach 30 wins, doing so in their 39th game.

Rasmussen (4-2), who allowed two singles to former Tampa Bay outfielder Jake Bauers, has thrown 21 scoreless innings in four career appearances against the Yankees. He struck out seven, walked none and got nine outs on groundouts while throwing 57 of 76 pitches for strikes.

Reds 5, Mets 0

Four pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout and Spencer Steer added a solo home run as Cincinnati cruised to a win over visiting New York in the rubber match of the three-game series.

Right-hander Ben Lively (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, earned his first major league win since Sept. 29, 2017. He scattered four hits over three innings of relief.

The Reds jumped on Mets starter Kodai Senga (4-2) for four runs with two outs in the first inning. The Reds made it 5-0 in the fifth inning on Steer’s fifth homer of the season, a high fly to the seats in left field. New York has dropped 13 of its last 17 games.

Twins 5, Padres 3

Carlos Correa capped a seventh-inning rally with a go-ahead, two-run double as Minnesota defeated San Diego in the rubber match of a three-game series in Minneapolis.

After Max Kepler grounded into a forceout to bring home a run and tie things at 3-3, Correa pulled a ball down the third base line to give the Twins their first lead. San Diego loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Brock Stewart struck out Trent Grisham to escape the jam. Jorge Lopez worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.

Joey Gallo went 2-for-3 for Minnesota, which improved to 2-1 on its six-game homestand. Minnesota’s comeback spoiled a stellar outing from Padres starter Yu Darvish, who allowed two runs on four hits through six innings. He walked one and fanned seven. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Rougned Odor hit solo shots for San Diego.

–Field Level Media

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco exited Thursday’s game against the host New York Yankees with tightness on the right side of his neck.

Franco grounded out to New York starter Domingo German to end the fifth after the Rays took a 1-0 lead on Yandy Diaz’s double. After the out, Franco jogged slowly from first base and replays showed him appearing to strain his neck.

Franco was replaced at shortstop by Taylor Walls, who moved from third base. Isaac Paredes took Franco’s spot in the batting order and manned third.

Franco singled in his first two at-bats and is batting .318 with seven homers in 23 RBIs. He was ranked inside the top five in the AL in batting average following the game.

–Field Level Media

Drew Rasmussen struck out Aaron Judge three times and pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball as the visiting Tampa Bay Rays routed the New York Yankees 8-2 on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series.

Josh Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs for the Rays, who beat the Yankees for the third time in four meetings this season.

The Tampa Bay offense came to life after getting blanked for the first four innings against New York starter Domingo German.

Yandy Diaz hit an RBI double in the fifth after Lowe reached on a fielding error by New York first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

In the sixth, Lowe ripped a bases-clearing double off the base of the center field wall against Ron Marinaccio. The Rays right fielder then blew the game open with a two-run blast to center off Ryan Weber in the eighth.

Taylor Walls added an RBI double in the seventh and Isaac Paredes contributed a run-scoring double in the eighth as the Rays became the first team to reach 30 wins this year, doing so in their 39th game.

Rasmussen (4-2), who allowed two singles to former Tampa Bay outfielder Jake Bauers, has thrown 21 scoreless innings in four career appearances against the Yankees. He struck out seven, walked none and got nine outs on groundouts while throwing 57 of 76 pitches for strikes.

It was the fifth time Rasmussen did not allow a run in his eight starts this year. On Saturday, he limited the Yankees to two hits in 5 2/3 shutout innings during a no-decision.

Rasmussen highlighted his latest scoreless showing by fanning Judge in the first, fourth and sixth.

After scoring 28 runs in a three-game sweep of the major-league-worst Oakland Athletics, the Yankees were blanked until Gleyber Torres hit a two-run single in the ninth.

German (2-3) allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.

–Field Level Media

The Washington Nationals have been trending up recently while the New York Mets have been going in the wrong direction.

They’ll face each other in a series for the second time this season, beginning the four-game stretch Friday night in Washington.

The Nationals have won three of their last four games. They’re coming off Wednesday’s 11-6 victory at San Francisco, where they produced a season-high run total.

“I hope it keeps going, because when we’re scoring runs early and often, we’re a really good team,” Nationals pitcher Josiah Gray said.

The Mets lost 5-0 on Thursday afternoon at Cincinnati, marking their ninth loss in their last 12 games.

New York has scored two or fewer runs in six of its last eight games.

“It’s tough because we know our guys are capable of a lot better offensively,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s frustrating for everybody. You’ve got to make your luck sometimes.”

If there was a downside for the Nationals this week, it was that third baseman Jeimer Candelario departed with a sore ankle based on a slide Wednesday.

“We’ll see how he feels come Friday,” Washington manager Davey Martinez said.

Candelario, who homered earlier in the season against the Mets, is batting 4-for-30 this month. His homer in the series at New York was his lone hit in a 1-for-14 series.

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (3-2, 3.65 ERA) will start for the Nationals on Friday night. He has gone six innings in three of his last four starts, averaging 7.5 strikeouts in those four outings.

Gore got the win against the Mets on April 26, going six innings and allowing one run. Washington won 4-1 with Gore striking out 10 and relievers upping the staff’s strikeout total to 15.

Combined with Gray logging seven innings Wednesday and Thursday’s day off, Washington’s pitching should be in good shape for this series. Nationals starters have lasted at least six innings in the past three games.

“It’s about pounding the strike zone and not giving any free passes,” Martinez said.

The Mets have right-hander Tylor Megill (3-2, 4.33) slated as their starter. He has failed to complete five innings in two of his last three starts. Those have been hindered by control issues as he has yielded seven walks with 10 strikeouts across those stints.

Megill has faced the Nationals five times across the previous two seasons, notching a 2-2 record with 6.52 ERA.

New York dropped two of three meetings with the Nationals last month at home, with the lone victory coming in the series finale by scoring the tying and winning runs in the eighth inning.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Showalter said. “Guys are pushing, sometimes to a fault. You’ve got to dwell on the next game.”

The Mets put catcher Tomas Nido on the injured list Wednesday due to dry-eye syndrome. Michael Perez was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to fill in, but he wasn’t used Thursday and hasn’t played in the majors since last August.

–Field Level Media

Friday figures to be an exciting night for Miami Marlins fans.

That’s when 6-foot-8 right-hander Eury Perez will make his major league debut against the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series.

Perez, a 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, is ranked as baseball’s eighth-best prospect by CBS Sports and No. 9 by MLB Pipeline, which ranks him as the Marlins’ No. 1 prospect. His best pitches are a deceptive slider and a fastball that lives at 94-97 mph but peaks at 100. He also has a plus slider and his fourth pitch is a curve.

On Friday, Perez will become the youngest player in Marlins history. At Double-A Pensacola this year, Perez is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA in 31 innings. He averages 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings and is holding opponents to a .148 batting average.

There’s a need for Perez in the rotation given that starters Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers are on the injured list. In addition, Braxton Garrett (5.97) and Eduardo Cabrera (5.35) have high ERAs.

In fact, once Perez’s promotion becomes official Friday, Cabrera could be sent to the minors to make room on the roster.

“Watching Eury perform for the past year has given us great confidence,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said.

If he lives up to his hype, Perez will slot in behind reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and lefty Jesus Luzardo.

Alcantara, in fact, was the one who broke the news to Perez, calling him on video.

Perez was brought into the office of his Double-A manager, who went over some teaching tips on his laptop. A couple of minutes in, Alcantara’s face popped on the screen, and he addressed Perez.

“I have some bad news,” Alcantara joked, “now I’m going to have to see your face every day.

“Do you think you are ready for the big leagues? I’m very happy for you. It is well deserved. We will see you here soon. We love you.”

As the call went on, Perez stood up and tearfully hugged his coaches.

Perez’s counterpart will be Cincinnati right-hander Graham Ashcraft (2-1, 3.82). Ashcraft, who made his debut last year, is 7-7 with a 4.61 ERA in his 26 career starts.

An Alabama native who pitched for the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Ashcraft was Cincinnati’s sixth-round pick in 2019.

He’s been at his best in his two career starts against Miami, going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Ashcraft’s only decision against the Marlins came last Aug. 2, when he allowed five hits, no walks and one unearned run in a 2-1 Reds win.

As for Reds hitters, it should be interesting to track second baseman Jonathan India, a South Florida native.

India, Cincinnati’s leadoff hitter, leads the club in batting average (.311) and OPS (.863). He went 2-for-4 in Cincinnati’s 5-0 win over the New York Mets on Thursday as the Reds won two of three games.

He will enter Friday on an eight-game hitting streak and is hitting .433 during that stretch.

Miami is on a two-game win streak after losing six of seven games.

Luis Arraez (.944) and Jesus Sanchez (.927) lead Miami in OPS. Arraez (.398) also leads the majors in batting average, although he had his 12-game hitting streak ended in Wednesday’s 5-4 win over Arizona. Sanchez hit a three-run homer in that game but left due to an apparently mild hamstring injury.

–Field Level Media

Texas Rangers star shortstop Corey Seager is beginning a minor league rehab stint Thursday night for Double-A Frisco as he prepares to return to the majors after sustaining a left hamstring strain a month ago.

The three-time All-Star was injured while the running the bases against the Kansas City Royals on April 11. The Rangers are hopeful Seager will be ready for their next homestand, which begins Monday against the Atlanta Braves.

Seager was batting .359 with one home run and four RBIs in 11 games prior to the injury. Last season, his first with Texas, he smacked a career-best 33 homers while batting .245 with 83 RBIs in 151 games.

Seager, 29, spent his first seven major league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers before leaving as a free agent. He signed a 10-year, $325 million deal with Texas following the 2021 season.

The Rangers also designated veteran right-hander Ian Kennedy for assignment and recalled left-hander John King from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Kennedy, 38, struggled this season and was 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in 11 relief appearances. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) and 11 hits over 10 innings.

Kennedy, a 17-year veteran, is 104-114 with 66 saves in 492 career appearances (290 starts) with six teams. This was his second stint with the Rangers after he appeared in 32 games for them in the 2021 season.

King, 28, is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in nine outings (two starts) at Round Rock. He hasn’t appeared for the Rangers this season but went 9-9 with a 4.01 ERA in 72 relief outings for them over the past three seasons.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rockies endured one of their worst months in franchise history when they finished April with 20 losses. They were well on their way to their first 100-loss season before the calendar flipped to May.

Since losing 14 of 17, Colorado has reeled off eight wins in its last 10 games and wrapped up a 4-2 road trip with a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

The Rockies will try to keep that momentum going when they open a six-game homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

Colorado will send Austin Gomber (3-4, 6.75 ERA) against righty Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.97) in the first of three games.

Gomber has turned his season around at the same time the team has flipped the switch. The lefty lost his first four starts of the season; he was effective in his first outing of the year, notching a quality start in a loss to San Diego, but then got hit hard.

He hit bottom when he allowed nine runs in two innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and saw his ERA rise to 12.12, but things have improved quickly. In his last three starts he has allowed just three runs over 17 innings to cut his ERA nearly in half.

Gomber said one reason for his improved outings was acknowledging he felt tremendous pressure to meet expectations after he was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Nolan Arenado deal on Feb. 1, 2021.

“I think once I got that off my chest, felt like I was able to get to a spot where I’m just more free, mentally, and I think better physically,” Gomber said. “And then having the support from the organization and all the guys in this room was the other piece of that. So I feel good about where I’m at.”

Gomber is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Philadelphia.

Expectations are high with the Phillies after they reached the World Series last fall. Philadelphia made a surprising run to the National League crown but began this year without Bryce Harper (elbow). He has returned and they have won three straight, including a 2-1, 10-inning win over Toronto on Wednesday to sweep a two-game series.

Wednesday’s win was impressive and showed some toughness. The Phillies tied it in the ninth and won it in the 10th when a throwing error allowed Edmundo Sosa to score from second on a play at the plate.

“That’s what this team does,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “They’re resilient and just keep fighting.”

The Phillies had lost six straight before their current streak.

Walker will try to keep that going Friday night. Because of two off days since his last outing, Walker will make his second start in the last four games. He bounced back from a bad game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1 to toss six innings of one-run ball against Boston on Sunday.

He has fared well in seven career starts against the Rockies, going 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA. His last outing against them came when he pitched seven scoreless innings while beating them 2-0 on May 22, 2022, for the New York Mets.

–Field Level Media