Tampa Bay Rays (36-39, fourth in the AL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (36-38, third in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Ryan Pepiot (0-0); Pirates: TBD
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates start a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
Pittsburgh has an 18-18 record in home games and a 36-38 record overall. The Pirates have a 17-9 record in games when they did not give up a home run.
Tampa Bay is 17-16 in road games and 36-39 overall. The Rays have a 25-16 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Andrew McCutchen leads Pittsburgh with 10 home runs while slugging .401. Bryan Reynolds is 13-for-40 with two home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
Isaac Paredes leads the Rays with a .287 batting average, and has 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 29 walks and 39 RBI. Yandy Diaz is 15-for-44 with a home run and four RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, .226 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Rays: 5-5, .228 batting average, 4.64 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Henry Davis: 7-Day IL (head), Hunter Stratton: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Borucki: 60-Day IL (tricep), Quinn Priester: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Ji-Hwan Bae: 10-Day IL (undisclosed), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Martin Perez: 15-Day IL (groin), Joey Bart: 10-Day IL (thumb), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Rays: Richard Lovelady: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jacob Waguespack: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jeffrey Springs: 60-Day IL (elbow), Drew Rasmussen: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
