Red Sox ride 4-game win streak into matchup with Rays
Tampa Bay Rays (37-23, second in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (33-29, third in the AL East)
Boston; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Yonny Chirinos (6-2, 3.25 ERA, .95 WHIP, 49 strikeouts) Red Sox: Rick Porcello (4-5, 4.77 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 56 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Boston enters the game as winners of their last four games.
The Red Sox are 12-11 against AL East teams. The Boston offense has compiled a .261 batting average as a team this season, good for fifth in the American League. Rafael Devers leads the team with a mark of .316.
The Rays are 12-10 against teams from the AL East. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled a .261 batting average as a team this season, good for sixth in the MLB. Austin Meadows leads the team with an average of .349. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Devers leads the Red Sox with 75 hits and is batting .316. J.D. Martinez is 12-for-44 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.
Meadows leads the Rays with 12 home runs home runs and is slugging .645. Avisail Garcia is 13-for-32 with three doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 6-4, .285 batting average, 4.81 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Rays: 6-4, .287 batting average, 3.76 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 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), Mitch Moreland: 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).
