TV: FOX Sports Sun
TIME: Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.
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Tampa Bay Rays (38-23, second in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (33-30, third in the AL East)
BOTTOM LINE
The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will square off in a doubleheader Saturday.
The Red Sox are 12-12 against AL East opponents. Boston has a collective on-base percentage of .335, good for third in the American League. Xander Bogaerts leads the club with a mark of .381.
The Rays are 21-9 on the road. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled a .261 batting average as a team this season, good for fifth in the American League. Austin Meadows leads the team with a mark of .345. The Rays won the last meeting 5-1. Yonny Chirinos notched his seventh victory and Kevin Kiermaier went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs for Tampa Bay. Rick Porcello took his sixth loss for Boston.
TOP PERFORMERS
Bogaerts leads the Red Sox with 31 extra base hits and is slugging .534. J.D. Martinez has 11 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Boston.
Meadows leads the Rays with 38 RBIs and is batting .345. Avisail Garcia is 14-for-32 with three doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES
Red Sox: 5-5, .279 batting average, 5.22 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Rays: 6-4, .277 batting average, 3.56 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Red Sox Injuries: Hector Velazquez: 10-day IL (back), Tyler Thornburg: 10-day IL (hip), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 60-day IL (knee), Steve Pearce: 10-day IL (back), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee), J.D. Martinez: day-to-day (back).
Rays Injuries: Tyler Glasnow: 60-day IL (forearm), Jose De Leon: 60-day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Joey Wendle: 10-day IL (wrist), Matt Duffy: 60-day IL (back), Michael Perez: 10-day IL (oblique), Anthony Bemboom: 10-day IL (knee).
