Tampa Bay @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2014 ) Tampa Bay 2, Cleveland 7

The Tampa Bay Rays are very comfortable on the road this season and look to improve their impressive 19-11 record away from home when they visit the Cleveland Indians on Friday to open a three-game series. The American League East-leading Rays (38-30) are eight games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 campaign after winning six of the last seven.

Joey Butler continues to be a big factor for the Rays with 10 multi-hit games since May 24 and teammate Evan Longoria has hit safely in seven consecutive contests. The Indians rebounded from a humbling 17-0 defeat to edge the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Thursday and Carlos Carrasco, who leads the team with eight wins, will start the opener against the Rays. Cleveland is led by Jason Kipnis, who has hit safely in 13 straight games overall and 22 consecutive home contests. Rays starter Nathan Karns will also have to contend with Michael Brantley, who has at least a hit in 14 of his last 15 outings.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)




PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Nathan Karns (3-3, 3.67 ERA) vs. Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.38)

Karns is winless in his last five starts, but allowed one run over six innings last Sunday as the Rays rallied to edge the Chicago White Sox 2-1. The 27-year-old Texas Tech product, who faces the Indians for the first time in his career, has limited opponents to two or fewer runs in nine of his 13 starts this season. Karns boasts a 1-0 record and 2.38 ERA in four road starts while going 2-3, 4.24 in nine outings at home.

Carrasco has won four of his last five starts, although he yielded eight runs over 9 2/3 innings in the past two outings. The Venezuela native’s next win will set a career high after recording eight victories om 2011 and again in 2014, and he has walked only 18 in 74 innings this season with 85 strikeouts. Longoria is 2-for-10 with a homer against Carrasco, who is 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA in four games (three starts) in his career versus the Rays.


WALK-OFFS

1. Cleveland CF Michael Bourn has appealed his one-game suspension – announced Thursday -- for making contact with an umpire on Tuesday.

2. Tampa Bay CF Kevin Kiermaier is 9-for-24 over his last seven games to raise his batting average 16 points to .252.

3. The Indians are 6-15 in series openers this season with five of those victories coming on the road.

PREDICTION: Indians 6, Rays 2