Red Sox facing massive challenge against undefeated Rays
BOSTON -- Coming off a slightly embarrassing series sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Red Sox rebounded nicely by sweeping the Tigers over the weekend. That turnaround certainly boosted spirits on the team and got the record to 5-4 on the young season.
That's all well and good, but on Monday night in Tampa, the real test begins. And it will be a doozy.
When the Red Sox take the field in St. Petersburg, they'll be going up against the undefeated Tampa Bay Rays. At 9-0 thus far, the Rays have dominated every single one of their games thus far. The numbers are a bit staggering.
Tampa has outscored opponents 75-18 this season, good for a plus-57 run differential that is 32 runs better than the second-best team.
The Rays are coming off back-to-back 11-0 wins over Oakland, marking the second and third times that Tampa opponents have been shut out this season. Rays opponents have scored more than two runs in a game just twice in nine games so far, with Washington losing 10-6 last week and Oakland losing 9-5 on Friday.
The Rays' team ERA is at 1.89 thus far, 0.59 runs better than the second-best Twins. The team WHIP is likewise best in baseball at 0.94, and opposing batters are hitting just .193 against them, the lowest average in MLB.
It hasn't just been pitching, either, as the Rays lead MLB in OBP (.379), slugging percentage (.588) and, naturally, OPS. They lead MLB with 75 runs scored, 15 more than the second-ranked Dodgers. They've launched 24 homers so far, six more than the second-ranked Dodgers, too.
It's ... a lot.
If the Red Sox are catching any break at all, it's that they won't be seeing Drew Rasmussen. The right-hander is 2-0 with a pristine 0.00 ERA through two starts, having allowed just three hits and zero walks in 13 innings while striking out 15 batters so far.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they will be catching the Rays' other starter with a 0.00 ERA in Jeffrey Springs, who's allowed three hits and four walks with 19 strikeouts in his 13 innings of work. He'll be on the bump for Tampa in Thursday's series finale matinee, opposed by Corey Kluber (0-2, 6.48 ERA).
Before that, it'll be Nick Pivetta (0-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Jalen Beeks (0-0, 3.00 ERA) on Monday, Garrett Whitlock (1.80 ERA in two Triple-A starts this year) vs. Shane McClanahan (2-0, 1.50 ERA) on Tuesday, and Chris Sale (1-0, 11.25 ERA) vs. Zach Eflin (2-0, 3.27 ERA) on Wednesday.
Making matters worse, it seems as though the Red Sox may be without their best hitter in Adam Duvall, who injured his surgically repaired left wrist during Sunday's win in Detroit. Duvall leads the Red Sox in batting average (.455), OPS (1.544), RBIs (14), doubles (5) and is tied for the team lead with four home runs and one triple.
As far as gauntlets go, this upcoming four-game series is about as brutal as it gets. If the Red Sox can escape with even one victory, it could be considered a positive outcome.