Tampa Bay Rays (76-51, first in the AL East) vs. Baltimore Orioles (61-67, fifth in the AL East)
Baltimore; Friday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Freddy Peralta (5-10, 5.27 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 123 strikeouts); Orioles: Trevor Rogers (8-8, 4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 108 strikeouts)
LINE: Orioles -132, Rays +111; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Baltimore Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays to open a three-game series.
Baltimore is 61-67 overall and 32-33 in home games. The Orioles are 12-19 in games decided by one run.
Tampa Bay is 33-28 in road games and 76-51 overall. The Rays are 56-21 in games when they record eight or more hits.
The matchup Friday is the 11th time these teams meet this season. The Orioles have a 6-4 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Alonso leads the Orioles with 52 extra base hits (23 doubles and 29 home runs). Christian Encarnacion-Strand is 9 for 35 with a double, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the past 10 games.
Junior Caminero leads the Rays with 35 home runs while slugging .534. Chandler Simpson is 18 for 44 with two doubles and three RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 4-6, .240 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored by three runs
Rays: 5-5, .292 batting average, 5.93 ERA, outscored by one run
INJURIES: Orioles: Blaze Alexander: 10-Day IL (hand), Ryan Mountcastle: 60-Day IL (foot), Colin Selby: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Zach Eflin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Keegan Akin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ryan Helsley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Felix Bautista: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jordan Westburg: 60-Day IL (ucl)
Rays: Victor Mesa Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Cole Sulser: 15-Day IL (back), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Edwin Uceta: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jon Heasley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Griffin Jax: 15-Day IL (elbow), Ben Williamson: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jake Fraley: 60-Day IL (groin), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
