The Rays are 34-16 and playing like the best team in baseball. The Orioles are 23-30, just got body-bagged in a three-game sweep at the Trop, and are staring down McClanahan on three days' rest from his last gem. This is not a fair fight on paper.
McClanahan is rolling. His last time out he scattered 2 hits over 5.2 scoreless against the Blue Jays and has been sitting on a 2.82 ERA all month. He's 5-2 and the Rays have basically been a coin flip to win every time he takes the ball. Baltimore lineups haven't been touching lefties of his caliber either.
Kyle Bradish is the wild card. The right-hander is 2-6 with a 4.13 ERA, but his last start was actually his best of the year — 10 strikeouts over 7 innings against the A's, leaning hard on a reworked curveball. The Orioles lost that one 4-3, which kind of sums up Bradish's season: he pitches, the team loses. He needs the bullpen behind him to stop bleeding runs, because that group coughed up 24 earned in 18.1 innings during the recent road trip.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayLogan Driscoll C — The Rays released Driscoll (ankle) on Friday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayKeyshawn Askew RP — no
- Day-To-DayTre' Morgan 1B — Triple-A Durham placed Morgan on the 7-day injured list with a quad injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- Day-To-DayTJ Nichols P — Double-A Montgomery placed Nichols on its 7-day injured list April 7 due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILJonny DeLuca RF — The Rays placed DeLuca on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a right hamstring strain.
- 10-Day-ILBen Williamson 2B — Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Williamson is not in the lineup for Monday's game versus the Orioles due to back tightness, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- Day-To-DayCoby Mayo 3B — Mayo (back) is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader versus the Tigers.
- Day-To-DayLevi Wells P — Triple-A Norfolk placed Wells on its 7-day injured list Wednesday due to right hip discomfort, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
- Day-To-DayRichard Guasch SP — no
- Day-To-DayWill Robertson LF — The Orioles reassigned Robertson to minor-league camp Wednesday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayLuis Vazquez SS — Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Monday that Vazquez has been diagnosed with a broken right thumb, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILDylan Beavers RF — Beavers (oblique) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
- 15-Day-ILCade Povich SP — Povich (elbow) met with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday and is without an official timetable for his return after receiving a cortisone injection, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Helsley RP — Helsley (elbow) played catch Friday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The injury column is where this game really tilts. Baltimore is without Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg (Tommy John), Zach Eflin (Tommy John), Dean Kremer, and Felix Bautista — that's basically half a roster. Tampa Bay isn't fully healthy either with Jake Fraley out for surgery and Jonny DeLuca on the IL, but they have the depth to absorb it. The O's don't.
Pinnacle has the Rays at -134 on the moneyline with the total sitting at 7.5. That's a fair price for a team that just hung 16 runs in this same matchup last week. If you want a sweat, Bradish's curveball gives Baltimore a path — but Tampa is going to have to actively give this one back.