Red Sox look for series sweep of Rays
Tampa Bay Rays (16-9, first in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (11-15, fourth in the AL East)
Boston; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Charlie Morton (2-0, 3.38 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 34 strikeouts) Red Sox: David Price (2-1, 3.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Boston can secure a series sweep over Tampa Bay with a win.
The Red Sox are 6-5 against the rest of their division. The Boston pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.48, Eduardo Rodriguez paces the staff with a mark of 5.89.
The Rays are 4-5 against division opponents. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled a .262 batting average as a team this season, good for sixth in the American League. Tommy Pham leads the team with an average of .304. The Red Sox won the last meeting 4-3. Marcus Walden secured his third victory and Mitch Moreland went 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI for Boston. Jose Alvarado took his second loss for Tampa Bay.
TOP PERFORMERS: Moreland leads the Red Sox with 12 extra base hits and is slugging .564. Christian Vazquez is 8-for-32 with a double, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.
Pham leads the Rays with 28 hits and has 10 RBIs. Austin Meadows is 18-for-40 with three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 5-5, .235 batting average, 4.90 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Rays: 5-5, .255 batting average, 4.12 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Red Sox Injuries: Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 10-day IL (knee), Eduardo Nunez: 10-day IL (back), Brock Holt: 10-day IL (eye).
Rays Injuries: Jose De Leon: 60-day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Austin Meadows: 10-day IL (thumb), Joey Wendle: 10-day IL (wrist), Matt Duffy: 10-day IL (back).