GameDay Preview: Rays Open Final Homestand of Season With Series vs. Texas
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The final homestand of the season begins on Friday night for the Tampa Bay Rays, and there's still plenty at stake.
Veteran pitcher Corey Kluber, who's been up and down of late, will start for the Rays in this first of three games against the Texas Rangers. It's the first of 10 straight games at Tropicana Field to end the home portion of the 2022 schedule, with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays to follow.
The Rays are 80-63 with 19 games to go. They are seven games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East race, and still knotted up with the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners for the three wild-card spots. The Rays are a half-game behind the pair, and 4 1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.
The Rays have been good at home at year, and they've been especially hot lately, winning 11 of their past 12 games at the Trop. They are 47-24 at home.
"It is nice to get back home. I feel like we've played well here,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
As tight as the wild-card race is, getting the homestand off to a good start is a priority, especially against a Texas team that's just 62-81 on the season. But the Rangers do have a powerful lineup and their best pitcher — veteran left-hander Martin Perez — is squaring off against Kluber on Friday night. He's 11-6 this season with a 2.77 ERA and he blanked the Rays over seven innings in a 3-0 Texas victory on May 31.
The Rangers have been a disappointment this season after signing Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to big deals. They've also been brutal in tight games, going just 13-32 in one-run games.
Here's how to watch Friday night's game, with TV information, starting lineups, pitching bios and a ton of newsy nuggets:
How to watch Rangers at Rays
- Who: Texas Rangers (62-81) at Tampa Bay Rays (80-63)
- When: 7:10 p.m. ET, Friday, Sept. 16
- Where: Tropicana Field
- TV: Bally Sports Sun
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Ryan Bass (reporter).
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 181
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored in the first game at minus-158 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website line as of Friday morning. The Rangers are at plus-134. The over/under is 7.5.
Projected starting lineups
- Texas Rangers: Marcus Semien 2B, Corey Seager SS, Nathaniel Lowe 1B, Adolis Garcia RF, Jonah Heim C, Josh Jung 3B, Leody Taveras CF, Josh H. Smith, DH, Bubba Thompson LF, Martin Perez P. \
- Tampa Bay Rays: Yandy Diaz DH, Manuel Margot RF, Wander Franco SS, Randy Arozarena LF, Isaac Paredes 3B, Christian Bethancourt 1B, Taylor Walls 2B, Francisco Mejia C, Jose Siri CF, Corey Kluber P
Projected pitchers (Game 1)
- MARTIN PEREZ, Texas Rangers: Martin Perez was an All-Star for the first time in 2022, and it was a well-deserved honor because he's been very good all year. The 31-year-old Venezuelan was the American League Pitcher of the Month in May, going 4-0 with an 0.64 ERA. That included seven scoreless innings against Tampa Bay on May 31, when he allowed only three hits. He is 11-6 with a 2.77 ERA.
- COREY KLUBER, Tampa Bay Rays: Corey Kluber, the 36-year-old veteran who pitched at Texas in 2020, has been very inconsistent lately. His last two starts, both against the Yankees, were like night and day. He pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits on Sept. 3 in the Rays' 2-1 win, but then got shelled for six runs in the first inning on Sept. 10 in a 10-3 loss. He is 10-8 on the year, with a 4:36 ERA. Kluber beat the Rangers on June 2, allowing just one run over six innings
Newsy nuggets
- RALEY RETURNS: Brooks Raley is back on the Rays' active roster after missing all five games in Toronto. The left-handed reliever is unvaccinated, so he was not allowed to travel into Canada. To make room for Raley, the Rays sent right-handed reliever Kevin Herget back to Durham. Herget made his major-league debut in Toronto.
- FLEET FEET: Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena has 30 stolen bases this season, tied for second in the AL and just one behind Baltimore's Cedric Mullins. He also has 19 home runs, so he one homer shy of a second-straight 20-20 season. B.J. Upton is the only Rays player to do that on multiple occassions. He did it three times (2007, 2011 and 2012).
- RAYS GRAD MADRIS: The Rays have claimed first baseman/outfielder Bligh Madris off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will report to Triple-A Durham. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred right-handed relier Ryan Thompson (right triceps inflammation) to the 60-day injured list.
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.