Fresh off a disappointing showing on offense Friday night, the Boston Red Sox will get two chances to get back in the win column Saturday when they host the Tampa Bay Rays for a day-night doubleheader.
The twin bill is the result of a rainout between the two teams on April 26. Right-hander Josh Smith (0-1, 4.91 ERA) will get the ball for the Red Sox in the regularly scheduled afternoon contest (1:05 p.m. ET start) opposite Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough (4-2, 6.23).
In Game 2, Boston southpaw David Price (3-2, 2.83) takes the mound against a to-be-determined Tampa Bay starter. First pitch for the second contest is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET.
The Red Sox had been on a four-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 31-13 during that stretch, before running into a wall in the form of Rays right-hander Yonny Chirinos in the series opener Friday. The 25-year-old allowed just two hits across a career-high eight shutout innings in the eventual 5-1 win for the visitors.
“What he just provided was huge,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash, “given that we’re playing four games in three days and we just had to go to one reliever.”
The win was the third straight for the Rays, who moved within a half-game of the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East while extending their lead over the Red Sox to six games. Kevin Kiermaier led the offense with a home run and four RBIs.
“I feel really good at the plate right now,” Kiermaier said. “It always feels good driving guys in, making that contribution, knowing you did your job.”
Though the Red Sox got a run on the board in the ninth, they were held to just four hits in the loss. Boston was without star designated hitter J.D. Martinez (back spasms). First baseman Mitch Moreland, who returned from a stint on the injured list with a lower-back injury earlier Friday, exited in the top of the seventh with right quad tightness.
“[Moreland] doesn’t feel great,” Red Sox skipper Alex Cora said after the game. “I’ll talk with him a little more when I’m done here with [president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski] and see what we can do.”
If Moreland is sidelined, Michael Chavis and Sam Travis will likely resume sharing time at first base. Meanwhile, Boston is hopeful Martinez will be available Saturday, though Cora said pregame Friday that the team has “to be careful.”
Each team will make a roster move regardless ahead of the doubleheader to bring in a 26th man. The Red Sox will activate Smith for his start, as he is currently not on the active roster, while the Rays will bring up right-hander Austin Pruitt to potentially factor into the pitching plan for Game 2.
Smith will make his second start for Boston this season, having allowed four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on May 6. He will face the Rays for the first time in his career.
For Tampa Bay, Yarbrough is coming off a strange outing in which he went seven innings but allowed seven runs on 10 hits in a loss to the Minnesota Twins. He has pitched against the Red Sox six times (one start), posting a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings.
In the nightcap, Price will look to build off a 6 1/3-quality-inning performance (two runs allowed) against the Yankees last time out. He is 5-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) against his former team in Tampa Bay.