Gameday Preview: Rays Turn to Jeffrey Springs Again to End Skid

The Tampa Bay Rays are mired in a four-game losing streak, tied for their longest of the year, and they'll turn to Jeffrey Springs to get them out of it. He was the winning pitcher in Minnesota last Sunday in their most recent win. Here's our gameday preview, with Springs' story and the hot rotation, starting lineups and a ton of newsy nuggets.

BALTIMORE, Md. — When Jeffrey Springs last took the mound on Sunday, the Tampa Bay needed him to step up and avoid a sweep against the Minnesota Twins. He did just that, pitching 5 1/3 innings in the Rays' 6-0 win.

But since then, the Rays haven't won a game. They've lost four in a row now, scoring a total of just four runs, and they're turning to Springs again to get them out of their funk. Some hits will be nice, but keeping the train rolling with the starting rotation is a big deal too — because they've been incredibly good.

Since Springs' start last Sunday, the Rays' starters have throwing 25 1/3 innings and allowed only one earned run. They've also allowed only 11 hits during that stretch. Despite that excellence, the light-hitting Rays are just 1-4 during the stretch.

Here's what they've done in this last turn through the rotation:

• Jeffrey Springs (Sunday): Pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed just two hits. The Rays beat the Twins 6-0.
• Corey Kluber (Tuesday): Pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowed only two unearned runs and just four hits. The Rays lost to the Yankees 2-0. 
• Shane McClananan (Wednesday): Pitched 6 innings and allowed just one earned run. The three other runs were all unearned. He gave up three hits and had seven strikeouts.
• Jalen Beeks (Thursday): The Rays went with an opener because of Drew Rasmussen's trip to the injured list, and Beeks did well. He threw 2 perfect innings, and had one strikeout.
• Shane Baz (Friday): Baz pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. 

Springs has been great since moving into the starting rotation in early May. He's held. teams scoreless in five of his last eight appearances, and his ERA is down to 1.45, the lowest of any American League pitcher with at least 49 innings.

He pitched at Baltimore on May 21, and threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 6-1 win. He's getting more and more comfortable as a starter, especially as he works deeper into games.

"I'm just continuing to try to maneuver through a lineup multiple times,'' Springs said. "I feel like I'd like to be more efficient, but it is what it is when you face good lineups. They're going to make you work. But I just continue to trust my stuff and keep it over the plate, mix and move and hopefully continue to have success.''

Kevin Kiermaier is back in the lineup on Saturday after missing two-plus games with some tightness in his calf and Achilles area. 

Here's how to watch Saturday's game, with TV information and starting lineups and more.

How to watch Rays at Orioles

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (35-29) at Baltimore Orioles (29-37)
• When: 4:05 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 18
• Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.
• TV: Bally Sports Sun 
• Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
• Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 177 (Orioles broadcast; Rays online)
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest line: The Rays are favored at minus-166 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website opening line as of Friday afternoon. The Orioles are plus-140. The over/under is 8.

Rays-Orioles series history

• Rays barely lead series: This Rays lead the all-time series 225-202 over the Orioles, and they are 103-110 at Camden Yards since 1998. The Rays' 103 wins here are the most they've won anywhere on the road in their 25 years. This season, the Rays lead the series 4-3 so far, winning three straight to open the season in St. Petersburg, but losing two of three games in Baltimore, both in extra innings, during a series from May 20-22. They lost 1-0 on Friday night.

Projected starting pitchers

• Rays left-hander Jeffrey Springs: Jeffrey Springs has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays this season, dominating hitters after moving into the starting rotation. He's 3-2 with a 1.45 earned run average, and he has held teams scoreless in five of his eight outings.
• Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish: Kyle Bradish is a 25-year-old from Goodyear, Ariz., and he's struggled this year. He's 1-4 with a 6.86 ERA. He opposed Springs in that May 21 meeting here in Baltimore, and gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings in Tampa Bay's 6-1 win. He's given up 10 home runs this season, including shots by Kiermaier and Randy Arozarena in that May 21 loss.

Projected lineups

• Rays lineup: Kevin Kiermaier CF, Manuel Margot RF, Yandy Diaz 3B, Ji-Man Choi DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Harold Ramirez 1B, Taylor Walls SS, Isaac Paredes 3B,  Francisco Mejia C, Jeffrey Springs P.
• Orioles lineup: Austin Hays DH, Trey. Mancini RF, Ryan Mountcastle DH,  Anthony Santander LF, Tyler Nevin 3B, Ryan McKenna CF, Robinson Chirinos C,  Jorge Mateo SS, Richie Martin 2B, Kyle Bradish P.

Newsy nuggets

• No. 1 — Close losses: The Rays have played three straight one-run games and lost all three. It's the first time that they've lost three straight one-run games since Aug. 3-5, 2018. They have played 23 one-run games this season, tied for third in the majors behind the Toronto Blue Jays (24) and Miami Marlins (24). For the season, Tampa Bay is 11-12 in one-run games, and are  3-9 since May 8 after an 8-3 start.
• No. 2 — Great pitching: The Rays have pitched to a 3.13 ERA this season, fourth in the majors behind the New York Yankees (2.79), Los Angeles Dodgers (2.94) and Houston Astros (3.03).  They have yielded two earned runs or fewer in five consecutive games, their longest such streak since April 23-29, when they did it six times in a row.
• No. 3 — Red-hot lately: The Rays have a 2.51 ERA in the last 33 games, which is best in the majors since May 11 ahead of the Yankees (2.95).
• No. 4 — Road woes: The Rays are just 2-8 in road series openers this season after losing on Friday night, and have lost six straight games to open a series. Overall, they are just 8-13 on the season in series openers, but 27-16 in all other games.

Watch Jeffrey Springs' interview

Related stories to Rays baseball

• TOM BREW COLUMN: We had to wait two months before Shane Baz could get his season started, and what we learned on Friday night in his second start is that he can be unhittable at times. He threw six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. There's greatness expected of him, and Friday night, he showed us why. CLICK HERE
• ORIOLES TOP RAYS, 1-0 (Friday): Shane Baz goes six scoreless innings in his second start, but once again, Tampa Bay's anemic offense failed to score any runs in a 1-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards. It was their fourth straight loss. CLICK HERE
• JUST FOR STARTERS: Breaking down Shane Baz's start on Friday night in Baltimore, with the numbers and the totals for the rotation all season. CLICK HERE
• RASMUSSEN TO IL WITH HAMSTRING INJURY: Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen, the No. 2 man in its starting rotation, was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday with a left hamstring strain. He's made all 12 of his starts this season, and has five wins. He had been scheduled to pitch on Thursday in New York. CLICK HERE
• RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the Rays' complete schedule for 2022, with results and stats thus far, and gametimes and locations for the rest of the year. CLICK HERE