Series Preview: Rays vs Diamondbacks
Twenty-two games down, one-hundred fourty to go
To say the record tying long homestand was a disappointment is an understatement. The Rays dropped three of the four series and came within a few outs of being swept by New York in a four game set. Tampa Bay has now lost five of their last six contests and have fallen to 9-13 on the season, five games back of the division leading Yankees. The homestand is finally over and the Rays head out west where they’ll take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three game series.
Arizona enters play on Monday with a 13-9 record, sitting in 4th place in the NL West, 3 games back of the division leading San Diego Padres. The Diamondbacks as a whole are excellent offensively have been led by Corbin Carroll, who is looking like an early season MVP candidate as he is hitting .323/.394/.645 with 7 HR over 104 PA, registering a 182 wRC+ and accruing 1.7 FWAR. Some other top performers on the team are Geraldo Perdomo (132 wRC+ | 1.3 fWAR) and Pavin Smith (220 wRC+ | 0.9 fWAR). On the mound, Eduardo Rodriguez has been the team’s top starting pitcher (the Rays face him on Wednesday); the rest of the starting rotation has struggled while there are some bright spots in the bullpen.
Frivolities
The top players by career WAR to have played for the Rays and Diamondbacks:
- Evan Longoria
- Asdrubal Cabrera
- David Peralta
- Tommy Pham
- Kelly Johnson
The Rays best player offensively against the Diamondbacks all-time (min. 15 PA):
Akinori Iwamura: .385/.438/.923 with 1 HR over 16 PA
GAME ONE
Tuesday, April 22nd
9:40 PM EDT
RHP Zack Littell vs RHP Brandon Pfaadt
GAME TWO
Wednesday, April 23rd
9:40 PM EDT
RHP Taj Bradley vs LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
GAME THREE
Thursday, April 24th
9:40 PM EDT
RHP Drew Rasmussen vs RHP Corbin Burnes