Rays ride hot pitching into series vs. Blue Jays

If pitching is contagious, as many in baseball claim, the Tampa Bay Rays have an epidemic on their hands.

Manager Kevin Cash and his red-hot pitching staff will begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays with the series opener Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.

It's all about the pitching for the Rays (75-78) right now.

Against a potent Boston offense over three games, Tampa Bay pitchers allowed just five runs on 10 hits while striking out 33.

After strong starts from Shane Baz and Ryan Pepiot in the first two matchups, Zack Littell took it to another level Thursday in a 2-0 shutout.

Using just 75 pitches, Littell improved to 8-9 and lowered his ERA to 3.56 by striking out seven and allowing just a harmless third-inning single to Nick Sogard, the only baserunner Boston had in the game.

"Really remarkable," Cash said of Littell, who has a 20-inning scoreless streak. "To do it against (Boston's) offense and just limit damage. Not a lot of hard-hit balls at all. You can tell he kept them off balance."

Relievers Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger closed out the Rays' 11th shutout by not allowing a baserunner in one inning apiece, leaving the Red Sox with 28 batters up, 27 down in a truly dominant performance.

Tyler Alexander (6-5, 5.58 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay on Friday. He is 2-0 in three games against Toronto this season, making him 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA over seven career appearances vs. the Jays.

Behind five hitless innings from starter Kevin Gausman (13-11) in Texas, the Blue Jays (73-80) beat the Rangers 4-0 on Thursday.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rocketed two mammoth shots - 422 and 441 feet - to reach the 30-homer plateau for the third time in five seasons.

The club is 1-2 on its six-game road trip.

Toronto will play the final nine games without star shortstop Bo Bichette, who was lost for the season's remainder Wednesday with a fractured right middle finger after two months of rehab for a lingering calf injury.

"He was frustrated," Toronto manager John Schneider said. "But I do think he's in a pretty good place in terms of perspective and things like that. He was obviously frustrated, but (he) knows something positive will come out of this. That's what we're hoping for."

Bichette, 26, was fielding ground balls when a ball jumped up on him and popped his fingertip.

His disappointing 2024 concludes with him batting .225 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 81 games.

Toronto pitcher Jose Berrios (16-9, 3.44) will find himself standing on familiar ground in the Gulf Coast domed park when he takes the hill for his 31st start.

The Puerto Rican right-hander got the Opening Day nod and beat the Rays on March 28, an 8-2 win in which he pitched six innings and allowed two runs on six hits, including a homer by Yandy Diaz.

That started Berrios on a 4-0 run to open 2024.

However, the Rays evened the slate on July 23 in Toronto -- a 4-2 victory in which Berrios issued a season-worst six walks and surrendered a two-run homer to Brandon Lowe.

Over 12 career starts against Tampa Bay, the 30-year-old hurler, who leads Toronto in wins and has posted three straight seasons with double-digit victories, is 4-5 with a 4.80 ERA.

The Rays have hit .255 with nine homers in 65 2/3 innings against him.

--Field Level Media