New Tampa Bay catcher Liam Hicks has only played eight games with the Rays, but the Canadian-born backstop is proving to be a winning acquisition by the organization.
After a record-setting West Coast road trip that saw the top team in baseball win all nine games, the club returns to action within its division by hosting the Baltimore Orioles for four games starting Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Acquired from the Miami Marlins, Hicks has provided additional power in the lineup's top four, joining Jonathan Aranda as the slugging bats hitting from the left side.
In his first three series with the Rays, the 27-year-old is batting .308 with two homers and nine RBIs with a .438 on-base percentage.
Notably, he slugged a grand slam in Denver in his first game with the team and launched a three-run shot in Wednesday's 8-4 victory over the Athletics, which improved the Rays to 9-0 on their cross-country trek.
They became the first team from an Eastern division since the 1977 Boston Red Sox to sweep a nine-game road trip against three clubs in the West.
"Really happy with that," Hicks said of his first week. "It's a really fun group to be around. It's really exciting what we're doing on the field. ... They've made me feel like I've been a part of the team since the second I came in. It's been an easy transition."
Tampa Bay outscored the Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and the Athletics 65-34 in the nine contests, moved to 10-1 in August and improved their record to 74-46, best in the majors.
{{/usCountry}}Tampa Bay outscored the Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and the Athletics 65-34 in the nine contests, moved to 10-1 in August and improved their record to 74-46, best in the majors.
{{/usCountry}}The Orioles and Rays met six times in home-and-home three-game series in the latter half of May, and it was feast or famine both times, with each team sweeping at home.
Baltimore missed a chance to move past Minnesota in the wild-card standings Wednesday, dropping two of three games against the Twins, including the series finale, 7-5, as starter Shane Baz was rocked for five runs in three innings.
Manager Craig Albernaz said his club failed to find gaps and did not put runners on base early in innings to create scoring opportunities.
"We had some pretty good swings that were just at people," he said. "That's all you can do and control: Put a good swing on it. ... We had a tough time, especially later in the innings, getting the leadoff guy on. It's tough to get stuff going without getting the leadoff guy on."
Left fielder Dylan Beavers blasted a three-run homer off winning pitcher Zebby Matthews in the third, putting the visitors ahead 4-1. However, the Twins answered with four runs in the bottom half against Baz.
" works, and we count on people who put in work behind the scenes. It was great to see him hit that three-run shot," Albernaz said.
The Orioles will welcome back veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt to start the series opener. Bassitt, who has been out since early June with lower back discomfort, is 1-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 11 appearances against the Rays.
The Rays intend to go with a bullpen game. Left-hander Steven Matz will serve as the opener. Right-hander Jesse Scholtens is expected to be the bulk reliever after he was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Thursday.
Matz, who last made a start on June 2, has allowed no runs and one hit across eight innings over his past six relief outings. He is 3-3 with a 4.79 ERA in 11 lifetime games vs. Baltimore, and he is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts against the Orioles this year.
Scholtens pitched against Baltimore in each of his two most recent major league appearances, a win on May 20 and a loss on May 25. He yielded a total of seven runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings in those contests. Scholtens owns a 1-1 career record with a 5.63 ERA in four games vs. the Orioles.
The Rays signed former Baltimore shortstop Jorge Mateo to a major league deal following the series this week in West Sacramento, Calif., giving them more options in the middle infield with Ben Williamson on the 10-day injured list.
Mateo, 31, played five seasons with the Orioles but was released by the Atlanta Braves last week after hitting .240 with four homers, 11 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 65 games.
Field Level Media
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