Tampa Bay @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2011 ) Baltimore 1, Tampa Bay 8
THE STORY: The surging Tampa Bay Rays have thrust themselves squarely into the pennant race following a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. Winners of seven of their last eight games, the Rays have pulled within 3 1/2 games of the Red Sox in the American League wild-card chase. They also have a four-game series looming in Boston this weekend, so they cannot afford to look past the Baltimore Orioles with 17 games left in the season. Tampa Bay will send Jeff Niemann to the mound when it opens an 11-game road trip with a three-game series against the Orioles on Monday night. Zach Britton gets the start for Baltimore.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Sunshine, MASN2
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Jeff Niemann (9-7, 4.07 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Zach Britton (9-9, 4.33 ERA).
Niemann had been on a roll until he ran into the Texas Rangers in his last two starts. He was raked for 12 runs and 15 hits while serving up four home runs in only 9 2/3 innings. Entering this month, Niemann had gone 8-1 in his previous 12 starts. Matt Wieters is 5-for-13 and Nick Markakis 8-for-23 against Niemann.
Britton is 3-0 in his last four starts, including a win at Tampa Bay on Sept. 2 when he limited the Rays to two runs on four hits in six innings. The rookie has gone 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts versus the Rays this season. He has had success against B.J. Upton, holding him to one hit in eight at-bats.
ABOUT THE ORIOLES (58-87): Baltimore closer Kevin Gregg blew his seventh save of the season and third in his last six appearances in Saturday’s loss at Toronto. Nick Markakis had his fifth two-hit game in the last seven on Sunday. During that stretch he is batting .407 (11-for-27) with seven RBIs. Vlad Guerrero is also on a roll, batting .462 (12-for-26) in his last seven games. Riding a four-game RBI streak, Guerrero needs one homer to tie Jeff Bagwell for 35th on the career list with 449. Center fielder Adam Jones sat out the last two games after fouling a ball off his ankle Friday.
ABOUT THE RAYS (81-64): Tampa Bay moved a season-high 17 games above .500 with its sweep of Boston. The Rays have made up 7 1/2 games on the Red Sox since Aug. 22 by winning 22 of their last 32 games. They have had a flair for the dramatic with a team-record 12 walk-off wins, including six via the home run ball. Upton broke open Sunday’s game with his first career grand slam. Upton, who reached 20 homers for the second time in his career, is batting .500 (9-for-18) during a four-game hitting streak. Ben Zobrist has five RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.
FINAL PITCH: Rays DH Johnny Damon needs to swipe one more base to become the ninth player in major league history with 200 homers and 400 steals.