Series Preview: Rays vs Athletics

eighty-four games down, seventy-eight to go.

In what has become a rarity of late, the Tampa Bay Rays lost a series.

Despite scoring 20 runs over the three game series, the Rays dropped two of three to the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays now have a record of 47-37 and the Yankees are back up to a 1.5 game lead in the division; the Rays still control the top Wild Card spot with a 3.5 game advantage.

The Athletics of Sacramento will now come into town for a three game set, having just dropped two of three to the aforementioned Yankees. The Athletics may have one of the worst records in baseball, 34-52, but there are some bright spots on their roster. The most notable of which is Jacob Wilson, who is emerging as one of the top young stars of the game. The 23-year old is hitting .338/.380/.471 with 9 HR, registering a 138 wRC+ and has accrued 2.8 fWAR over 80 games. The Athletics also have a bonafide threat in the middle of their lineup in Brent Rookier, who has 17 HR (131 wRC+ | 1.6 fWAR); Lawrence Butler (105 wRC+ | 1.6 fWAR) & Shea Langeliers (98 wRC+ | 1.0 fWAR) have also been solid contributors.

It’s the pitching that has been the main source of the Athletics struggles in 2025. The team as a whole ranks 29th in ERA, 30th in FIP, 30th in HR/9, 27th in K%, 26th in BB%, and 28th in AVG. Mason Miller, their breakout closer in 2025, has taken a step back this year (but is still a strikeout machine) and it’s been a struggle to find a high-leverage reliever to help record outs late in games. A bright note has been Jacob Lopez, who has been excellent as of late and he gets the ball for the first game of the series.

Frivolities

• The top players by career bWAR to have played for the Rays and Athletics

1. Ben Zobrist
2. Jose Canseco
3. Johnny Damon
4. Carlos Pena
5. Scott Kazmir

• The Rays best player offensively against the Athletics all-time (min. 25 PA):
  Geoff Blum: .429/.538/.762 with 1 HR over 27 PA
  The next four are Jose Siri, Josh Phelps, Greg Norton, & Francisco Mejia
• The Rays most previous transacation with the Athletics:
  — 12/14/24: Rays trade Jacob Lopez & Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics for Will Simpson, Jacob Watters, & Joe Boyle
• The Rays first transaction with the Athletics
  — 7/28/00: Rays trade Todd Belitz & Jim Mecir to the Athletics for Jesus Colome

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Probable pitchers are projected by FanGraphs

GAME ONE

Monday, June 30th
7:35 pm EDT

RHP Drew Rasmussen vs LHP Jacob Lopez

GAME TWO

Tuesday, July 1st
7:05 pm EDT

RHP Shane Baz vs LHP Jeffrey Springs

GAME THREE

Wednesday, July 2nd
12:10 pm EDT

RHP Ryan Pepiot vs RHP Mitch Spence