The Tampa Bay Rays are looking to close out a 3-game series with the Houston Astros. First pitch is at 1:10pm for game-3 of the Juice Box Series.
Matt Andriese will take the mound for the Rays today and will be looking to get his 2nd win of the season. This will be Andriese’s 4th start of the season and only his second time pitching against the Astros. He is coming off his best start of the season thus far vs the Detroit Tigers. Andriese went 6-innings with only 1 earned run and set the stage for the Rays to sweep the first place Tigers. He is hoping to repeat his performance today against the red hot Astros.
Joe Musgrove is on the hill for the Astros and like Andriese will be looking for his 2nd win of the season. This is Musgrove’s 2nd season in the majors and his first time facing the Rays. He was brought up last year for the last 2 months of the season and helped the Astros stay in the hunt for the playoffs. Musgrove has had a rough start to the season thus far but if his 10-starts in 2016 are a reflection of the rest of this season, he will only get better.
Today’s starting lineups. #Astros #Rays pic.twitter.com/RSjPGvRGi1
— The Scrum Sports (@TheScrumSports) April 23, 2017
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The Rays lineup is missing Kevin Kiermaier today due to him still fighting off an illness. Hopefully KK will be back in action when the Rays head to Baltimore.
Steven Souza Jr will be taking over center field while Shane Peterson will in right. Souza Jr is currently on a 6-game hit streak and leads the AL in hits (25) and is tied with Mike Trout, Starlin Castro, and teammate Corey Dickerson for multi-hit games (8). The only player in the league with more hits overall is former Ray Wil Myers.
Additionally, the Rays recalled RH pitcher Chih-Wei Hu from the Durham Bulls and he will be available in the bullpen. Hu becomes the first Taiwan-born player in Rays history and the 12th in major league history according the Baseball Reference.
RHP Chih-Wei Hu recalled by #Rays from @DurhamBulls. No. 8 on Tampa Bay’s Top 30 Prospects list: https://t.co/9JwkNW8mZv pic.twitter.com/cha8yvfHRy
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 23, 2017
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