Two clubs in nearly identical positions in the playoff chase and with identical records meet on Friday when the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series.
The Reds snapped a three-game skid and salvaged a split of their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break with a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
Nick Lodolo tossed his first career shutout while Jake Fraley went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cincinnati offense.
Nursing a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder, Fraley has come out of the All-Star break by going 8-for-15 with three doubles and four RBIs.
“I feel good,” Fraley said. “I am just putting my head down and going through this. It’s nothing new. I’ve been dealing with the shoulder for four years now. The pain is something that I am used to with it.”
Fraley has taken cortisone shots to minimize the discomfort in the shoulder so he can keep playing.
“The cortisone shots have been doing a good job,” he said. “The training staff and the strength staff have been doing a really good job of keeping me locked in with the shoulder stuff, making sure that cortisone lasts as long as it can. I might need another one mid-September. I’ve been feeling good and keep it rolling.”
The Reds enter the series with the Rays at 53-50, 2 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the National League.
Tampa Bay enters Friday’s game with the same record. The Rays, however, are just 1 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League.
The Rays squandered leads of 4-0 and 7-5 on Wednesday and dropped an 11-9 home decision to the Chicago White Sox. Reliever Kevin Kelly gave up six runs (five earned) in the eighth inning, dropping Tampa Bay to 7-15 since June 27.
“We’ve got to find a way to start winning some series and go on a little bit more consistent run of winning,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
After Wednesday’s loss, the Rays optioned starting pitcher Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham to work out some kinks in his mechanics.
“I just kind of take a breath out of the nature of the standings as it is,” Bradley said. “Just knowing that I can go down there, work on some stuff, it’s just like a breath of fresh air.”
The Rays did not immediately announce Bradley’s replacement in their rotation, but right-hander Joe Boyle is a possibility.
The Reds send right-hander Nick Martinez (8-9, 4.73 ERA) to the mound in Friday’s series opener for his 21st start of the season and 23rd appearance. Martinez is making his fourth career start and eighth appearance against Tampa Bay, going 1-0 with a 6.20 ERA lifetime versus the Rays.
Martinez has won four of his last five starts, including last Saturday when he allowed two runs on six hits over five innings in a 5-2 win over the host New York Mets.
Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Zack Littell (8-7, 3.53), who will make his 21st start of the season.
Littell gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings in a 4-3 home win over Baltimore last Saturday. He is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings over four career appearances against Cincinnati, including one start.
–Field Level Media
