Rays to face Orioles on the road
Tampa Bay Rays (53-39, second in the AL East) vs. Baltimore Orioles (27-63, fifth in the AL East)
Baltimore; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.32 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 142 strikeouts) Orioles: John Means (7-4, 2.50 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 69 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays will square off in a doubleheader Saturday.
The Orioles are 13-27 against opponents from the AL East. Baltimore has hit 109 home runs as a team this season. Nunez leads the club with 21, averaging one every 14.5 at-bats.
The Rays are 20-17 against AL East Division opponents. Tampa Bay has slugged .427 this season. Austin Meadows leads the team with a .505 slugging percentage, including 31 extra-base hits and 12 home runs. The Rays won the last meeting 16-4. Chirinos earned his eighth victory and Lowe went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs for Tampa Bay. Bundy registered his 11th loss for Baltimore.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nunez leads the Orioles with 39 extra base hits and is slugging .508. Sisco is 9-for-30 with a double, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Baltimore.
Kiermaier leads the Rays with 43 RBIs and is batting .257. Avisail Garcia is 9-for-35 with a double, a home run and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 5-5, .254 batting average, 4.24 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Rays: 7-3, .284 batting average, 4.07 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Orioles Injuries: Josh Rogers: 60-day IL (elbow), Nate Karns: 60-day IL (forearm), Alex Cobb: 60-day IL (lumbar strain), DJ Stewart: 10-day IL (ankle), Mark Trumbo: 60-day IL (knee).
Rays Injuries: Chaz Roe: 10-day IL (hip), Tyler Glasnow: 60-day IL (forearm), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Jose Alvarado: 10-day IL (oblique), Daniel Robertson: 10-day IL (knee), Brandon Lowe: 10-day IL (leg), Matt Duffy: 60-day IL (back), Ji-Man Choi: 10-day IL (ankle), Christian Arroyo: 10-day IL (forearm), Anthony Bemboom: 60-day IL (knee).
