After losing three of their last four games, Rich Hill and the Tampa Bay Rays shut out the Texas Rangers in a 3-0 win. The Rays are still one game ahead of the Red Sox for the division lead in the AL East.
Offense
While the Rays offense did not play extremely well, they did enough to grab the victory. Austin Meadows had a two-run single off Kolby Allard in the first inning. Meadows has been hot as of late with 17 RBI’s in his last nine games. Also, Manuel Margot hit a solo homer in the eighth inning for the Rays. The 26-year-old outfielder hadn’t gone yard since May 16, but Margot got hold of a Joely Rodriguez pitch to give Tampa Bay an insurance run.
On the other hand, the Rangers have struggled a great amount this season and are 19th in the MLB in runs scored. The Rangers only had five base runners and four hits all game.
Pitching
41-year-old Rich Hill had his second consecutive start of five scoreless innings before four relievers finished off a 3-0 win. Hill pitched five scoreless innings while allowing only two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. After starting the season with a rocky ERA, Hill as a 0.68 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB in his last seven starts (39.2 innings).
Meanwhile, the Rangers pitchers didn’t have as much success as Rich Hill did. Starter Kobly Allard walked the first batter of the game and then gave up back-to-back singles to give the Rays the early 2-0 lead before a single out was recorded. However, Allard quickly buckled down and retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced, going five innings and allowing three hits and one walk. He also struck out six, getting a game-high nine swings and misses.
Next Up
The Rays will wrap up the four-game series with the Rangers on Sunday at 2:35 PM EST. Dane Dunning will take the mound for the Rangers against a Rays pitcher to be determined.