The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled mightily on the road while the Tampa Bay Rays simply can’t get it right at home.
The Brewers and Rays will bid to change their end of that narrative on Friday night when they open a three-game series in Tampa.
Sporting a 7-12 record on the road, Milwaukee will turn to left-hander Jose Quintana (4-1, 2.83 ERA) to start the series opener against Tampa Bay right-hander Zack Littell (2-5, 4.61).
The Rays were left licking their wounds after squandering a four-run lead in a 7-6, 10-inning setback to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
Yandy Diaz went deep for the second time in three games, belting a three-run homer for Tampa Bay, which has lost three in a row overall, seven straight at home and 11 of its past 12 home contests.
Quintana followed up a brilliant month of April — when he allowed just three total runs in four starts (all wins) — with a disastrous showing on Saturday. He permitted six runs on seven hits — including three homers — in five innings of a 6-2 setback to the Chicago Cubs.
Quintana, 36, is 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts) against Tampa Bay.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy expects to see the return of catcher William Contreras, outfielder Sal Frelick and second baseman Brice Turang for the series opener. Contreras missed one game as he plays through a fractured finger on his left hand. Frelick sat out three contests with a left knee injury, and Turang is dealing with an illness.
“They’re doing all sorts of things to put things in his glove, and he had the finger injected, so that should calm down,” Murphy said of Contreras’ situation. “Now we have to do something, (because) when he swings the bat, it’s just so painful for him. We’re working that out.”
Teammate Christian Yelich lauded Contreras’ toughness as the catcher battles through the injury.
“I think I remember Moose (Mike Moustakas) playing with a broken finger,” Yelich said. “Everybody is out there playing with something, but a broken finger is pretty extreme. He’s played through a lot of stuff before, blown-up fingers and all of that. If anyone can do it, it’s him.”
Littell has answered a five-start losing streak by winning each of his past two outings. He allowed solo homers to Aaron Judge and Austin Wells as well as one other hit over seven innings in a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday.
“The old adage of, ‘You’re not going to get beat by solo shots’ — we almost tested that theory,” Littell said.
Added Rays manager Kevin Cash, “To navigate that lineup through seven innings, two solo homers and that’s all the damage — just a tremendous job.”
Littell, 29, is 0-1 with a 1.00 ERA in nine career relief appearances vs. Milwaukee. He will be starting against the Brewers for the first time.
On Thursday, the Brewers optioned struggling reliever Elvin Rodriguez to Nashville and sent fellow right-hander Aaron Civale to the Triple-A club for a rehabilitation assignment as he works his way back from a left hamstring strain.
–Field Level Media
