Gameday Preview (Friday): Brandon Lowe, Kim in Lineup As Rays Start Second Half
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TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays get back to business on Friday night, fresh off a much-needed All-Star break. On the outside looking in for a playoff spot, they have a golden opportunity to get off to a hot start with a six-game homestand against two last-place teams — the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.
It all starts with three against the Orioles, their American League East rival that is 4-3 vs. the Rays so far this season. They'll see a familiar foe on the mound in former Rays pitcher Charlie Morton. Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe is back after a short stint on the injured list. He was out with a mild oblique strain. He's batting second on Friday night and playing second base. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is back in starting as well after dealing with a few aches and pains before the break.
Here's how to watch Friday's game:
How to watch Orioles-Rays
- Who: Baltimore Orioles (43-52) at Tampa Bay Rays (50-47)
- When: Friday, July 18 at 7:35 p.m. ET
- Where: Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Fla.
- TV: FanDuel Sports Sun, WTOG-44
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
- Betting information: The Rays are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-125, and the Orioles' money line odds are plus-105. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-165 odds, and the Orioles plus-1.5 runs at minus-210 odds. The over/under is 9.5 runs.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
Orioles batting order
- Jackson Holliday 2B
- Jordan Westburg 3B
- Gunnar Henderson SS
- Ryan O'Hearn DH
- Ramon Laureano RF
- Colton Cowser LF
- Cedric Mullins CF
- Coby Mayo 1B
- Jacob Stallings C
Rays batting order
- Chandler Simpson CF
- Brandon Lowe 2B
- Yandy Diaz DH
- Jonathan Aranda 1B
- Junior Caminero 3B
- Josh Lowe R F
- Jake Mangum F
- Ha-Seong Kim SS
- Danny Jansen C
Starting pitchers
- CHARLIE MORTON, Baltimore Orioles: Charlie Morton is 5-7 with a 5.18 earned run average. ... The 41-year-old right-hander from Flemington, N.J. is making his 15th start of the season and 21st appearance overall. ... His 396 career starts are fourth among all active pitchers, trailing only Justin Verlander (541), Max Scherzer (462) and Clayton Kershaw (439). ... Morton, who pitched for the Rays in 2019 and 2020, is making his 10th career start against the Rays. He is 5-3 with a 2.78 ERA, and allowed just one run in six innings on June 19 in Tampa. ... In that Tampa start, Steinbrenner Field became the 36th ballpark where he's pitched a major-league game, the most in the big leagues. ... Since May 10, Morton is 5-0.
- TAJ BRADLEY, Tampa Bay Rays: Taj Bradley is 5-6 with a 4.60 earned run average. ... The 25-year-old from Los Angeles is making his 20th start of the season, the third consecutive season he's done that. ... In his last start, Bradley left with a no-decision on July 10 at Boston after a quality start, going six innings with one run allowed on two hits, three walks and five strikeouts. ... In six career starts against the Orioles, Bradley is 1-3 with a 8.65 ERA and 28 strikeouts…in his two starts against Baltimore this season, he is 0-1 with a 14.85 ERA and a 1.141 OPS. ... His last start vs. Baltimore was at Camden Yards on June 29 and he went 5.1 innings with five runs allowed on eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts. … In his career, his lone quality start against the Orioles came on June 21, 2023 at Tropicana Field, where he allowed just one run in six innings, with eight strikeouts.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- BRANDON LOWE OFF INJURED LIST: With a chance to start fresh in the second half of the season, the Tampa Bay Rays are receiving some much needed help, with second baseman Brandon Lowe coming off the injured list. He missed about a week with a mild oblique strain. CLICK HERE
- ARE RAYS BUYERS OR SELLERS? A 4-12 swoon has the Tampa Bay Rays on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. And with the trade deadline two weeks away, Rays baseball operations president Erik Neander isn't sure if they're buyers or sellers. "We need to win some games.'' CLICK HERE
- RAYS SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK: Daniel Pierce, a high school shortstop who was the Rays' first pick in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday, has agreed to a deal $4.3 million deal that's $1 million below slot value. CLICK HERE
- RAYS MAKE ROSTER MOVES: The Tampa Bay Rays are making some pitching staff changes as they gear up for their return from the All-Star Break against the Baltimore Orioles.CLICK HERE
- RAYS 2025 SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2025 Tampa Bay Rays schedule, with dates, locations, game times and results in real time. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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