Tampa Bay Rays in Baltimore for Game 2 of Pivotal Series

The Tampa Bay Rays face the Baltimore Orioles tonight in Camden Yards. It’s game two of the four-game series between the AL East rivals.

Rays Bullpen Dominates Game 1

The Rays were triumphant in a 4-3 win over the Orioles last night.

.@RaysBaseball now just 1 game behind Baltimore for 1st place in the AL East. pic.twitter.com/BfHEBuNXeR

— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2023

All of the Orioles’ runs came off of Rays’ starter Aaron Civale. Civale pitched 5.0 innings, and the three runs came off four hits. The Orioles struggled against the Rays bullpen though. The Rays relievers retired twelve straight batters in the final four frames.

The Rays' bullpen has gone 34 straight innings without allowing an earned run.@RaysBaseball pic.twitter.com/59hwHdxVTl

— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) September 15, 2023

Like the Orioles, all the Rays’ runs came from the opposing starter. RHP Kyle Bradish took the mound for Baltimore and pitched 7.0 innings while allowing the four runs. The Rays’ fourth run came in the seventh inning, a go-ahead solo shot by Rays centerfielder Luke Raley.

The winning pitcher for the Rays was left-handed reliever Colin Poche, who is now 12-3 on the season. Rays closer Pete Fairbanks threw a shutout ninth inning to earn his 24th save of the year. Bradish received the loss for Baltimore and is now 11-7 on the season.

Playoff Implications

This series is crucial for the AL East championship race and therefore has a significant impact on playoff seeding.

After last night’s contest, the 91-55 Orioles have just a one game lead over the 91-57 Rays. These teams have the two best records in the American League. In fact, the next best record in the league belongs to the 83-64 Houston Astros of the AL West.

With less than 20 games left in the regular season, it is quite likely that the Rays and Orioles will finish the season with the AL’s top records.

The MLB’s playoff format rewards division winners. Each league’s top two division winners are exempt from the wild card round, instead they receive a bye and begin in the divisional round.

So, despite finishing the season with what will likely be the second best record in the AL, the team that finishes second in the AL East will have a harder path to the World Series than the champion of the AL Central or West (whichever team has the better record).

Game 2 Preview

RHP Zach Eflin takes the mound in game two for the Rays.

Eflin has an ERA of 3.53 and a 14-8 record this season. He is tied for first in the AL in wins with Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson and Toronto’s Chris Bassitt.

The Rays’ starter has experience against the Orioles this year. He has faced them twice thus far. His first outing came on May 9th, where he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed four runs off seven hits to receive the loss.

He also faced the Orioles on July 21st, where he threw 7.0 shutout frames while allowing just two hits to earn the win.

Baltimore’s starter is RHP Jack Flaherty. Flaherty has a 4.98 ERA and an 8-8 record on the year.

After spending six-and-a-half seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Flaherty was traded to Baltimore on the August 1st deadline last month. Tonight will be his seventh start with the Orioles. Despite being a veteran, Flaherty will be playing the Rays for the first time in his career.

This will be the 11th time these teams have faced in 2023, Baltimore currently leads the overall series 6-4.

Tonight’s game begins at 7:05 p.m.