Los Angeles @ Tampa Bay preview
George M. Steinbrenner Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2024 ) Tampa Bay 1, LA Dodgers 3
The Los Angeles Dodgers will look relatively unchanged when they begin a three-game series against the host Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
While many expected Los Angeles to be active ahead of Thursday's MLB trade deadline, the team instead made a series of minor moves to try to improve their roster.
The injury-plagued Dodgers lead the National League West by three games over the San Diego Padres, who bolstered their team through five trades at the deadline. All were more significant than those made by Los Angeles.
Los Angeles opted to merely tinker with its roster by adding reliever Brock Stewart from the Minnesota Twins and outfielder Alex Call from the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers traded right-hander Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox for two outfield prospects.
"Coming into the year, we felt like this was as talented of a roster as we've ever had," Los Angeles general manager Brandon Gomes said. "We're in first place, and I don't even think we've played our best baseball yet.
"So as we continue to get some of our starters back, and then adding these pieces and our guys playing up to their potential, we feel it's still a really, really strong team, and we don't feel any differently about our aspirations than we did at the beginning of the year."
The Dodgers will conclude a nine-game road trip with a series against Tampa Bay, which has lost three games in a row and nine of 13 since the All-Star break, including a painful 7-4 defeat to the New York Yankees on Thursday.
The Rays are monitoring the status of three players who were injured during the contest. First baseman Jonathan Aranda suffered a left wrist injury, designated hitter Yandy Diaz exited with a bruised right forearm, and rookie outfielder Chandler Simpson departed with a sprained left index finger.
The Rays are 8-21 since June 27 but hope two key moves from Thursday will help end the slump. Tampa Bay acquired starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax from the Minnesota Twins.
"I'm excited to get some of those new arms in and see what they can do," Rays infielder Brandon Lowe said. "Now we say goodbye to July. ... We can all relax and take a deep breath in this clubhouse and get back to what we're used to doing."
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said he remains confident in his squad, which sits four games behind the final American League wild-card spot. The Rays traded starting pitcher Zack Littell, in the final year of his contract, to Cincinnati and decided to keep veterans such as Diaz and Pete Fairbanks.
"I feel like this team is good, and we know the guys that can help us win, and we want to get them going the right way so we can have a strong two months," Cash said.
The Rays will send right-hander Shane Baz (8-7, 4.61 ERA) to the mound in the series opener. He allowed two runs over five innings in a 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Baz went 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA across five starts covering 28 1/3 innings in July. He will make his first career start against the Dodgers.
Los Angeles will counter with veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 3.62), who gave up four runs over 4 2/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox last Saturday.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner finished July with an 0-2 record, a 4.71 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 21 innings over four starts.
The 37-year-old Kershaw is 2-0 with a 4.44 ERA in four career starts versus Tampa Bay.
--Field Level Media