Players and owners are the outset of contentious labor negotiations that will revolve around the financial inequities between teams. There is no doubt that teams with enormous market resources have an advantage – the high-spending Dodgers have the best record in baseball. But it is also interesting that in the backdrop of these talks, the third-lowest-spending team in baseball – the Tampa Bay Rays – are in first place in a division that includes big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.
The Royals split the four-game series with the Rays last week, but Tampa Bay is currently enjoying a five-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay Rays (48-33) vs. Kansas City Royals (35-50) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Rays: 4.52 runs scored/game (13th in MLB), 4.22 runs allowed/game (12th)
Royals: 4.20 runs scored/game (21st), 5.02 runs allowed/game (26th)
Yandy Diaz had a four-hit game against the Royals last week and has been on a tear, hitting .391/.468/.489 in the month of June, boosting his MLB-best batting average to .336. Junior Caminero is hitting .415/.468/.927 with seven home runs in his last eleven games. He has the fifth-highest hard-hit rate in baseball. Jonny Deluca is hitting .309/.356/.509 in road games.
Taylor Walls is hitting just .203/.300/.261 against lefties. Ben Williamson has a 30.6 percent line drive rate, sixth-highest in baseball. The Rays have just a 72 percent success rate in steals and are tied for being picked off the most.
The Royals will face three starters they faced last week in Tampa Bay. Griffin Jax allowed just two unearned runs in five innings against the Royals in a Rays win. He has a 2.40 ERA in 11 starts, although he has yet to go more than five innings in a start. He has given up just two earned runs in his last four outings for a 0.90 ERA.
Shane McClanahan gave up six runs against the Royals last week, although only two runs were earned. He has a 4.38 ERA on the road this year, compared to 2.21 at home. Lefties are hitting just .164/.258/.327 against him this year.
Neither team has listed a starter for Thursday, but the Rays are expected to go with Ian Seymour again, while Stephen Kolek should return from paternity leave by then. Seymour tossed six no-hit innings against the Royals as the bulk guy after opener Casey Legumina. He throws his change up 33 percent of the time, with opponents hitting just .141 against it.
The Rays have a 4.40 ERA out of their relievers, ninth-worst in baseball. Bryan Baker has converted 21 of 24 save opportunities, and he has allowed just one run in his last 14 innings. Lefties are hitting just .185/.324/.222 against Kansas-born Garrett Cleavinger. Opposing hitters have a 47.6 percent hard-hit rate against Kevin Kelly, second-highest in baseball.
The Rays are the best team in baseball at home, but are just 17-21 on the road, and they have not won a road series since mid-May. The Royals looked good in the first two games of the series last week, only to fall apart in the final two games. After a terrible weekend in Chicago, they will need to play well in the final homestand before the All-Star Game to get the bad taste out of their mouth.
