The Tampa Bay Rays face the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday looking to avoid being swept in the three-game series. Tampa Bay went to Baltimore with an opportunity to gain crucial wins in the AL East pennant race as well as gain ground in the AL Wild Card race. After two games, the Rays need a win in order to make anything of the series.
Jeremy Hellickson (8-10, 3.33 ERA) will take the mound for Tampa Bay, while Baltimore sends Wei-Yin Chen (12-9, 4.06 ERA). Hellickson is 1-2 in his last three starts, hasn't seen the seventh inning in any of them, and is 1-3 against the Orioles in 2012.
Hellickson will look for support from Tampa Bay's offense, but he may not have too much of it. Chen is 1-2 in his last three starts against the Rays, but Tampa Bay has combined for eight runs in those three games.
Opportunities are in short supply at this point in the season. The Rays travel to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees starting Friday; salvaging something from their series against Baltimore would be a good way to gain some momentum.
Game Time: 12:35 p.m. ET
Television Coverage: SUN, MASN
Streaming Coverage: MLB.tv
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