D-backs Visit House of Horrors Tropicana Field to Take on the Rays

A tough pitching opponent awaits the Diamondbacks hitters

Apr 6, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; a general view of the stadium before a game between the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in Tampa Bay to face the Rays this weekend at Tropicana Field. They're in the middle of what was supposed to be a seven game road trip, but their series finale against the Cardinals on Thursday got rained out.

Jun 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter LuJames Groover hits a double against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The D-backs are 41-39, and 2.0 games out of the third NL Wild Card position. They won two of the three games played in St. Louis and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. That included an offensive breakout in a 9-4 victory on Wednesday. LuJames Groover hit his first career MLB home run in that game, joining the Arizona youth movement.

The Rays are 45-33, and hold he first AL Wild Card spot by a sizable 7.5-game margin. They're coming off a huge 13-2 win against the Royals on Thursday in which they nearly pitched a combined no-hitter. That was broken up on a homer against Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. Junior Caminero hit three home runs and drove in six RBI.

The Rays ran out to 34-15 record through May 22, but are 11-18 since. Mostly their luck in one run games has been poor. But They've been especially tough to beat at Tropicana Field, which has become a house of horrors for visiting teams. The Rays are 28-12 at home while the D-backs are 17-22 on the road.

The Rays swept a three game series with the D-backs at Tropicana Field in August of 2024, and took two of three from Arizona at Chase Field Last year.

Starting Pitching Matchups

Zac Gallen and Nick Martinez pitching stats | Jack Sommers

Zac Gallen is coming off the worst start in his Diamondbacks career, giving up nine runs on 12 hits in four innings to the Twins on June 20. While it's true there were a lot of softly-hit balls that fell for hits, his lack of swing and miss has been a major problem all year.

The 6.4% whiff rate on Gallen's four-seam fastball is the lowest in all of MLB (minimum 100 pitches). The whiff rate on his curveball has dropped from 39% in 2025 to just 23% in 2026.

Nick Martinez has only allowed more than two earned runs four time this year, but all four of them have come in his last four outings. He had a 1.62 ERA on May 29, and that has risen to 2.73 since. Over his last four starts, 22.1 innings he has a 6.04 ERA. Martinez's xERA and FIP are significantly higher than his ERA, so there may still be some regression to the mean to come for him.

Jose Cabrera Pitching Stats | Jack Sommers

Jose Cabrera is a 24-year-old rookie who made his MLB debut in front of a packed Chase Field on Fathers Day against the Twins. He tossed five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and no walks while striking out three.

That earned another start for the energetic Cabrera who immediately won over fans with his big smile and demeanor. Cabrera posted a 3.69 ERA in 12 starts spread between the run happy environments of the Texas League and the PCL for the D-backs this year.

The Rays are showing TBD for Saturday. That usually means an opener and a bulk pitcher, but it's not clear who those pitchers will be as of this writing.

Merrill Kelly and Dew Rasmussen pitching stats | Jack Sommers

Coming off a truncated rehab process, Merrill Kelly's season got off to a disastrous start, giving up 21 runs in his first four starts, 19 innings. He's been better since then, posting a 4.29 ERA in his last nine starts. That included a six inning, three-run quality start in a loss to the Cardinals June 22.

The problem is even during these last nine starts, the peripheral metrics like xERA (5.83) and FIP (5.06) indicate he's not really pitching all that well. Location mistakes in the zone and walks have plagued him all season.

Drew Rasmussen's 2.62 ERA ranks second in the AL, behind only the Yankees Cam Schlittler. When healthy Rasmussen has been one of the best pitchers in MLB, and he's been healthy for the last year and a half. In 27 innings in June he has a 1.00 ERA, giving up just three earned runs.

Diamondbacks and Rays Bullpens

The D-backs rank 17th in MLB with a 4.31 bullpen ERA. The Rays rank 22nd with a 4.53 mark. The month of June has included several blowouts for the D-backs, and their reliever ERA has bounced up to 5.30 this month. The Rays have a 4.11 reliever ERA in June.

Jun 4, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks closing pitcher Paul Sewald (38) reacts after striking out an Arizona Diamondbacks batter in the ninth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

Paul Sewald is 18-for-19 in save chances, but has struggled in non-save situations, so has a 2-4 record and 4.03 ERA. Bryan Baker has converted 20 of 23 save chances and has a 2.01 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched.

Diamondbacks and Rays Offenses

Jun 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) runs up the first baseline after hitting a single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Rays have scored 4.50 runs per game and have a team 100 OPS+ (league average) playing their games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. DH Yandy Diaz leads the AL with a .331 batting average. He has 12 homers and 51 RBI. Caminero has 19 homers to go with his .285 average and .895 OPS.

The D-backs' offense has slumped down to 4.33 runs per game and a 92 OPS+. They're led by Corbin Carroll, who is batting .279 with a .901 OPS. He leads MLB with nine triples and also has 17 doubles and 13 homers.