Tampa Bay Rays Series Preview: The Dodgers are in town

The Tampa Bay Rays will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town this week for an exciting 2 game set.

Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in town for a pair of games against the Tampa Bay Rays who should be happy to be home after suffering a pair of tough road losses at the hands of the New York Yankees.

In a matchup that will include two of the best teams in baseball, runs will be at a premium. The Rays lead the league with a team ERA of 2.98 while the Dodgers are second with a 3.38 team ERA.

The Rays, 27-17, have split their last ten games while the Dodgers, 31-17, have won seven of their past ten games.

Game 1: Tuesday

Clayton Kershaw:  3-0, 6 GS, 3.40 ERA, 39.2 IP, 36 K

v.s.

Hunter Wood: 1-0, 5G/1GS, 0.00 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 K

Hunter Wood returns to the Rays fresh off the IL after a prolonged absence to “open” his second game of the year. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the 7th time this year. In each of his previous starts this season, the 3 time Cy Young award winner has gone at least 6 innings. Kershaw’s last start came against the San Diego Padres in which he threw 7 innings, struck out 5, and surrendered 3 earned runs leaving with a win.

Game 2: Wednesday

Rich Hill: 1-1, 4 GS, 3.00 ERA, 21 IP, 24 K

v.s.

TBA

Rich Hill’s last game cam against the Reds against whom he threw an absolute gem, striking out 10 and walking none across six shutout innings.

Players to watch:

• Cody Bellinger: Hitting .405(!!!) with 17 bombs and 44 RBI.
• Alex Verdugo: Hitting .323 with 4 bombs and 23 RBI.
• Yandy Diaz: Hoping to return after getting hit on hand v.s. NYY.
• Austin Meadows: Hitting .337 with 9 bombs and 23 RBI.
• Brandon Lowe: Leading AL rookies and Rays with 10 bombs!

This should be an exciting series between two very good baseball teams. The Rays need to hit the reset button after losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees, with both losses stinging for different reasons. The Dodgers, on the other hand, will look to get a winning streak going after beating the Reds 8-3 yesterday.

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