Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles
BALTIMORE (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays look to even their series with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards after being shut out in the opener.
The Rays (76-80) enter the contest three games ahead of the Orioles (73-83) in the American League standings, though both teams are well out of playoff contention. Tampa Bay was blanked 4-0 by Baltimore on Tuesday, managing just three hits.
Scheduled starters Shane Baz (10-12) for the Rays and Tyler Wells (2-0) for the Orioles present a contrast in seasons. Baz has shouldered a heavy workload but struggled to find consistency, while Wells has been effective in a limited role.
The Rays aim to rebound behind recent offensive contributors like Christopher Morel, who drove in four runs in a 7-3 win over Boston on Sunday. Baltimore, meanwhile, hopes to build on its recent pitching after Kyle Bradish struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball in his last start, though the Orioles fell 7-1 to the New York Yankees.
The season series has been tightly contested, with the Orioles holding a slim 6-5 edge. Games have featured dramatic swings, including a 22-8 Orioles rout on June 27 and an 11-1 Rays victory the day before. Interstat’s projection favors Tampa Bay in a close one, 5-4. The Rays are installed as a -1.5 favorite with an over/under of 8.5 runs.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature around 76 degrees. The four-game series concludes Thursday.