Sitting at .500 and in fourth place in the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays have a chance to make up some ground in the ultra-competitive division.
On a 5-1 hot streak to begin a nine-game homestand, the Rays will open a three-game weekend series against the second-place New York Yankees on Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The two clubs have a recent connection. Tampa Bay acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt from New York in a three-team trade that also involved the Miami Marlins on March 27. The 26-year-old Wisconsin native has stepped in and earned the starting job behind the plate.
After hitting just .118 in 32 games for New York last year, Rortvedt has been one of the Rays’ better surprises.
The lefty-swinging Rortvedt is batting .333 (21-for-63) with a .432 on-base percentage, 11 runs and eight RBIs.
“First off, Ben does tons and tons of homework, maybe more than any guy I’ve been around, prepping for games,” said Rays pitcher Zack Littell, who previously was in the Minnesota Twins organization alongside Rortvedt.
“But you see it a ton with Tampa, right? You bring a guy in and he gets to be himself a little bit. … He was a goofball, for lack of a better word, (in Minnesota). He’s having fun, enjoying himself and obviously been incredible for the team.”
Tampa Bay will send out Taj Bradley, now healed from a pectoral strain, for his season debut on Friday.
Last year in his first major league season, the Los Angeles native made 23 appearances — 21 starts — and registered a 5-8 record and a 5.59 ERA.
Over 104 2/3 innings, the right-hander allowed 106 hits and fanned 129 (11.1 per nine innings), but he surrendered 23 home runs.
Bradley, 23, is a replacement for Ryan Pepiot, who was struck in the left leg by a line drive on Sunday and landed on the injured list this week. Bradley will be making his first career appearance against the Yankees.
New York won two of three games vs. Tampa Bay from April 19-21 during the clubs’ first matchup in the Bronx. The Yankees are 6-2 in May after dropping a 4-3 home decision against the Houston Astros on Thursday.
Anthony Volpe and Aaron Judge slugged homers, but the Yankees could not beat fireballing closer Josh Hader, who notched a four-out save.
“Not a lot of people go to that place,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s booming 473-foot shot.
Boone will send out Clarke Schmidt (3-1, 3.50 ERA) on Friday. The right-hander won two of his past three starts, but he has yet to complete six innings in an outing this year.
In an April 19 home start, Schmidt took no decision against Tampa Bay after yielding one run, a solo homer by Richie Palacios, on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings in a game the Yankees won 5-3.
Against the Rays in his career, Schmidt is 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 28 2/3 innings over nine appearances, five of them starts.
The Yankees claimed right-handed reliever Colby White off waivers from Tampa Bay on Thursday and assigned him to Double-A Somerset.
–Field Level Media