Another late night snack for you Rays fans, as our boys in blue take on the A’s yet again on the West Coast. Kid K goes for the Rays, on the back of two straight very good performances. He still hasn’t had his best stuff, though, which could be bad news for the rest of the league.
What to watch for: The Rays have never seen Greg Smith before, and he’s a lefty. The Rays have not done well at all against left-handed pitchers in general this season.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir – The Rays ace lowered his ERA in a superb outing vs. the Yankees on May 15. The southpaw tossed six scoreless innings — allowing just three hits — and sealing the club’s sixth series victory. Kazmir is at his best when he is locating his fastball, which makes his slider even more devastating for the opposition. In his past two starts, the reigning American League strikeout king has looked every bit the ace that the Rays recently signed to a three-year extension. He will try to replicate that success on Tuesday vs. Oakland.
Greg Smith - Smith failed to complete the sixth inning for just the second time this year in his last start against Cleveland, giving up three runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings. The southpaw’s early-inning troubles continued, as he allowed his ninth first-inning run. Lack of run support, however, also haunts Smith. The A’s have only scored one run for him in his last four starts. The rookie has never faced the Rays in his career.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
OAKLAND A’S |
| SS – Jason Bartlett | 3B – Jack Hannahan |
| LF – Carl Crawford | SS – Bobby Crosby |
| CF – B.J. Upton | 1B – Mike Sweeney |
| 1B – Carlos Pena | DH – Frank Thomas |
| 3B – Evan Longoria | RF – Emil Brown |
| C – Dioner Navarro | LF – Jack Cust |
| DH – Jonny Gomes | C – Kurt Suzuki |
| RF – Eric Hinske | 2B – Gregorio Petit |
| 2B – Ben Zobrist | CF – Raja Davis |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
May 20th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Yes!! Bases loaded 2-out 3-run “Double” from Navarro. Finally the Rays are on the board and take the lead! Wow, we lucked out there.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Phewww!!!! Percy is gonna give me a heartattack.