Gameday Preview: Shane Baz Makes 2nd Start For Rays Friday in Baltimore

Shane Baz had to wait two months to make his first start for the Tampa Bay Rays, and it didn't go well. He gets his second shot on Friday night in Baltimore, taking on the Orioles in the first game of a three-game series. Here's our gameday preview, with TV information, the starting lineups, pitching bios and a ton of newsy nuggets.

BALTIMORE, Md. — Shane Baz had to wait two months to make his first start for the Tampa Bay Rays, and it didn't go well. He gets his second shot on Friday night in Baltimore, taking on the Orioles in the first game of a three-game series.

Baz threw two perfect innings against Minnesota last Saturday, but then completely imploded in the third inning, giving up three walks, a single and a grand slam by Luis Arreaz.

Everyone expected a lot from from the young phenom, who turns 23 on Friday. They're also not panicking, fully expecting a better out on Friday night against the Orioles in an early 6:05 p.m. ET game.

"Shane's got electric stuff, as we've seen. I just thing he fell out of rhythm and didn't command the baseball the way he'd like,'' Cash said. "I'd like to see him get his four-pitch mix established early on, and try to find some tempo that he can work with to. get deeper in the ballgame.

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

How to watch Rays at Orioles

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (35-28) at Baltimore Orioles (28-37)
• When: 6:05 p.m. ET, Friday, June 17
• Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.
• TV: Bally Sports Sun, ESPN-Plus
• 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 84 (Orioles broadcast; Rays online)
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest line: The Rays are favored at minus-154 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website opening line as of Friday afternoon. The Orioles are plus-130. The over/under is 9.

Rays-Orioles series history 

• Rays barely lead series: This Rays lead the all-time series 225-201 over the Orioles, and they are 103-109 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 4-2 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.

Projected starting pitchers 

• Rays right-hander Shane Baz: Shane Baz made his season debut last Saturday in Minnesota, and started the game with two perfect innings. But in the third, he lost his command, giving up a single and two walks and then watching them all score on a grand slam by Luis Arreaz. Baz walked the following batter as well before getting the hook, and that base-runner scored, too. He's looking to bounce back against the Orioles. 
• Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer: Dean Kremer, a 26-year-old from Stockton, Calif., has made two starts for Baltimore so far this season. He's 1-1 with a 3.86 earned run average, losing to Cleveland 3-2 on June 5 and beating Kansas City on June 12, allowing just one earned run in five innings of the 10-7 win. Kremer started 13 games a year ago for Baltimore, going 0-7 with a 7.55 ERA.

Projected lineups 

• Rays lineup: Vidal Brujan 2B, Yandy Diaz DH, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Randy Arozarena LF, Harold Ramirez RF, Brett Phillips CF, Isaac Paredes 3B, Taylor Walls SS, Rene Pinto C, Shane Baz P.
• Orioles lineup: Cedric Mullins CF, Trey. Mancini 1B, Anthony Santander RF, Austin Hays LF, Ryan Mountcastle DH, Adley Rutschman C, Rougned Odor 2B, Tyler Nevin 3B, Jorge Mateo SS, Dean Kremer P.

Newsy nuggets 

• No. 1 — Pinto behind the plate: With Mike Zunino on the injured list with a shoulder issue, Rene Pinto is back up from Durham. He's in the starting lineup on Friday night primarily because he caught Baz several times during his rehab starts in Durham, and he has some familiarity with him. Pinto is hitting .182 in the big leagues, with one homer and three RBIs. The right-handed hitter has played in seven games and is 4-for-22, with that homer and three singles.
• No. 2 — Losing streak: The Rays have lost three straight games and are now a whopping 12 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. Their longest losing streak this season is four games. The sweep in New York was a long time coming. The Rays hadn't been swept sincer June 17-20 a year ago. 
• No. 3 — Road woes: The Rays are just 2-7 in road series openers this season, and have lost five straight games to open a series. Overall, they are just 8-12 on the season in series openers, but 27-16 in all other games. 
• No. 4 — Rutschman update: The last time the Rays were in Baltimore, catcher Adley Rutschman made his MLB debut to huge fanfare. The No. 1 prospect in baseball is find the going tough in the bigs. He's hitting just .195 with one homer and three RBIs since getting called up on May 21. He does hit for power, though. eight of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases, with six doubles, a triple and that one homer. 

Related stories on Rays baseball

• KIERMAIER FEELING BETTER: Tampa Bay outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who has been slowed by some calf and Achilles tightness the past few days, said he's feeling much better and should be available if needed on Friday night, with the hope of being in the starting lineup again on Saturday. 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
• RIZZO BLAST BEATS RAYS (Thursday): For the third straight day, the Tampa Bay Rays pitched well enough to win, but they could muster only three hits and Anthony Rizzo's home run in the bottom of the ninth gave the New York Yankees a 2-1 win on Thursday and a sweep of the three-game series. CLICK HERE
• YANKS BENEFIT FROM MORE UNEARNED RUNS (Wednesday): Brett Phillips dropped an easy fly ball in the fifth inning, and it led to three unearned runs after Kyle Higashioka hit a three-run homer off of Rays starter Shane McClanahan It was the third straight day Tampa Bay outfielders committed errors on routine plays. This one led to a 4-3 Yankees victory. CLICK HERE
• YANKEES WIN OPENER (Tuesday): A pair of bad errors in the fourth inning by Tampa Bay outfielders Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena were all that the New York Yankees needed to win 2-0 on Tuesday night in the first game of an important three-game series at Yankee Stadium. CLICK HERE
• DIAZ SAYS 'I WAS SAFE: A questionable overturned call in the sixth inning flipped the script for the Tampa Bay Rays in their game with the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. Yandy Diaz was called out at second base after a review, but he said "I think a 5-year-old would have been able to see that I was safe at second.'' 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