Rays beat Marlins 7-2

The Rays (71-57) defeated the Marlins (55-74) by a score of 7-2 Tuesday in the first of a two game road set.

The bullpen stepped up and Siri showed out#RaysUp

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 31, 2022

Recap

It was a hit parade in Miami last night for the Rays. They totaled 14 hits leading to the seven runs that would seal the victory.

Randy Arozarena and Jose Siri led the way with three hits each. Both players had one of their hits come via the long ball. It was a great team hitting effort and these players capitalized driving in three of the seven scored runs.

Shawn Armstrong started the game and delivered three innings of shutout baseball. The only runs the Rays gave up came in the seventh inning off of reliever Garrett Cleavinger. Allowing two runs in 1.1 innings pitched.

The bullpen came in and was able to shut down the rest of the game in a non-save situation.

McClanahan Scratched

Tampa Bay suffered a scare before last nights matchup even began. During warmups Rays ace Shane McClanahan was scratched during warmups for what is being reported as a shoulder impingement.

Shane McClanahan was scratched from his start for the Rays tonight. And one can only hope this video from the bullpen before the game is not as bad as it looks. @TriciaWhitaker is reporting he's out with a left shoulder impingement. pic.twitter.com/Z5HMrHTHCk

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 30, 2022

Losing McClanahan would be devastating for Tampa Bay. He has been consistently one of the best pitchers in the majors this year. Pitching to an 11-5 record, with a 2.20 ERA  and 186 strikeouts. Ranking fourth in ERA and sixth in strikeouts throughout the entire MLB.

After the game, head coach Kevin Cash expressed some hope for his ace’s injury.

"Right now I think we're all fairly optimistic that (Shane McClanahan) is going to be fine… We'll let some imaging take place, but I'm personally confident that he's going to be okay."

Kevin Cash gives some insight on the Shane McClanahan injury.@RaysBaseball | #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/GO0KxWPD79

— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) August 31, 2022

Standings

The win was the teams eighth in their last 10 games and helped protect their lead of the first American League wild spot.

There are three wild card position up for grabs in the AL this year. The Rays are a half game up on the Seattle Mariners who hold the second wild card spot. As well as being one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold the third wild card spot.

The team on the outside looking in for a wild card spot is the Minnesota Twins. Tampa Bay has a four game cushion on Minnesota, who still have a lot of time to make up ground.

The Rays have 34 games left with a lot of ground to make up on the first place Yankees. The Rays have had a successful August 17-9 in August, with one more game left to play this month. They have made up some ground on New York, but still sit seven games back for the division lead. The Yankees struggled in August with a 10-17 record. The Rays will need these struggles to continue if they are going to have a shot at the AL East.

Tonight’s Game

Tampa Bay and Miami will close out their two game set tonight at 6:40 p.m. EST, with coverage beginning here at 6 p.m.

Drew Rasmussen is scheduled to make the start tonight for the Rays. Rasmussen has posted a 9-4 record with a 2.77 ERA on the season. With a win tonight the Rays will extend their winning streak to three and help close out a strong August.