New York @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( May 13, 2015 ) NY Yankees 2, Tampa Bay 3

The Tampa Bay Rays look to make it easier on themselves after two straight comeback victories as they host the New York Yankees on Thursday in the finale of a four-game set. The Rays, who allowed two runs in the first inning the past two days before giving up none the rest of the way each night, are now 3-6 against the Yankees this season.

Steven Souza Jr. is 4-for-11 in the series and belted his team-leading sixth homer in Tampa Bay’s 3-2 victory Wednesday as the Rays permitted two or fewer runs for the fifth time in six games – four of them wins. The Yankees left 16 on base combined the last two games, losing two straight for the first time since April 14-15. Mark Teixeira is 6-for-10 with a homer and three RBIs in the series and Carlos Beltran boasts a six-game hitting streak (8-for-22) for the Yankees. Leadoff batter Jacoby Ellsbury continues to set the table for New York, scoring 10 runs in the last 10 contests.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Chase Whitley (1-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Rays RH Erasmo Ramirez (0-1, 8.38)

Whitley suffered his first loss in his third start of the season last Saturday when he allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore. The 25-year-old Alabama native permitted one run on six hits in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk to gain the victory against Tampa Bay on April 28. Asdrubal Cabrera is 3-for-4 and Kevin Kiermaier 2-for-2 versus Whitley, who is 1-0 in three career appearances (one start) against the Rays.

Ramirez makes his third start of the season after allowing only two runs and four hits over nine innings as a reliever in his previous five appearances. The Nicaragua native was pounded for nine runs in his first start April 15 versus Toronto and came back to limit the Blue Jays to one over four innings 10 days later. Ellsbury and Teixeira have homered against Ramirez, who gave up two runs in four innings versus the Yankees this year.

WALK OFFS

1. Cabrera is 7-for-20 over the last six games and reached 1,000 career hits with his fourth double in that span Wednesday.

2. New York C Brian McCann is 11-for-28 with eight RBIs this season against the Rays.

3. Tampa Bay INF Logan Forsythe is 5-for-10 with a homer and three runs batted in the series to raise his batting average to .304.

PREDICTION: Rays 7, Yankees 4