After losing last night's game in extra innings, the Rays are in big need of a win today against the Blue Jays. David Price takes the mound for the Rays, and Brandon Morrow will make his first start of the season for the Blue Jays. Game time is 1:05 PM.
Today's game could be a challenge for the Rays, as Brandon Morrow dominated the Rays last season. Most notably, Morrow pitched a complete game one-hitter against the Rays in August last season, striking out 17 batters and allowing no runs. He throws a hard fastball and slider, both of which the Rays had trouble against, and he mixes in a curveball and change-up to keep hitters off balance. The Rays will need a strong start from David Price to keep them in today's game, and they'll also need left-handed hitters Matt Joyce and Johnny Damon to produce at the plate.
The Rays hit .500 on Thursday against the Twins, but have lost two in a row since then and a loss today would put them three games below .500. While this isn't a huge deal in and of itself - the Rays still don't have Evan Longoria in their lineup - the next two games won't be easy for the Rays either, as Ricky Romero (3.12 ERA, 3.21 FIP) and Francisco Liriano (7.40 ERA, 6.35 FIP) are the scheduled starters.
Today's lineup features Sean Rodriguez at third base instead of Felipe Lopez, as Lopez was pulled from last night's game for not hustling:
Fuld lf
Damon dh
Joyce rf
Zobrist 2b
Upton cf
Kotchman 1b
Jaso c
Rodriguez 3b
Brignac ss