Series Preview: Rays vs Red Sox
Fifteen games down, one-hundred fourty-seven to go
A series victory is always rejuvenating and this past weekend is no exception as the Rays took two of three from the Atlanta Braves.
The Rays have now improved to 7-8 on the season, putting them in 4th place in the division 1.5 games back of the division leading Toronto Blue Jays.
Tampa Bay is currently tied with the Boston Red Sox, who will be in town for the next three games; the Red Sox are currently 8-9 on the young season.
Boston is currently being led by Wilyer Abreu, who is off to an incredible start and is among the league leaders in fWAR and wRC+. Entering play on Monday, the 25-year old outfielder is hitting .340/.468/.600 with 3 HR over 62 trips to the plate. Rookie Kristian Campbell is also off to a successful start for his big league career, as well as veterans Alex Bregman and Trevor Story; Rafael Devers has also rebounded after an abysmal slump to kick off the season.
Pitching wise, Garret Crochet has been phenomenal and fortunately for the Rays, they missed his turn in the rotation. The rest of the Red Sox pitching staff has been a mixed bag.
Frivolities
The top players by career WAR to have played for the Rays and Red Sox:
- Wade Boggs
- Manny Ramirez
- Carl Crawford
- Johnny Damon
- David Price
The Rays best player offensively against the Braves all-time (min. 25 PA):
Dan Johnson: .360/.448/.840 with 4 HR over 29 plate appearances
GAME ONE
Monday, April 14th
7:05 PM EDT
RHP Shane Baz vs RHP Tanner Houck
GAME TWO
Tuesday, April 15th
7:05 PM EDT
RHP Ryan Pepiot vs RHP Walker Buehler
GAME THREE
Wednesday, April 16th
7:05 PM EDT
RHP Zack Littell vs TBD