Chris Archer (8-17, 4.06 ERA), attemping to pick up his 200th strikeout of the season, starts for the Tampa Bay Rays (59-81) as they square off against Masahiro Tanaka (12-4, 3.11 ERA) and the New York Yankees (75-65) in the third of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the last game 7-5, continuing a six-game winning streak. Action begins at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sep. 10 and can be seen on FOX.
Tanaka pitched 6.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs, striking out four and walking three in a 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Carlos Beltran (.300, 68 Rs, 27 HRs, 86 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI. Archer went 6.1 innings, surrendering two runs, striking out nine and walking one in a 5-3 defeat to the Blue Jays in his last outing. Evan Longoria (.279, 71 Rs, 31 HRs, 85 RBIs) went 1 for 5 yesterday.
Notes
Tampa Bay has won 42% (27-38) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, New York has won 56% (39-31) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Rays are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded six strikeouts. The Yankees have a record of 39-17 when opponents’ pitchers have six strikeouts or less.
When they are outhit, the Rays are 10-59. The Yankees have a 15-54 record when opponents outhit them.
New York ranks in the bottom half of the league when it comes to home runs, hitting 158 this season. Tampa Bay ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 190.
New York and Tampa Bay both rank in the bottom half of the league in walks. New York sits at 18th with 409 this season and Tampa Bay ranks 20th with 403.
The Yankees are 57-33 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Rays are 51-51 when they hit at least one homer.
