GameDay Preview: Rays Going With 'Opener' in Matinee With Brewers on Wednesday

Jalen Beeks gets the call to hit the mound first for the Tampa Bay Rays, as it's an ''opener'' day on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers in the last of a quick t wo-game series. Here's how to watch, with gametime and TV information and a lot of newsy nuggets.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's day baseball at Tropicana Field on Wednesday, when the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay wrap up a quick two-game series.'

The Brewers, leaders in the National League Central, won Friday night's opener 5-3. The Rays will look to avoid a mini-sweep on Wedneday by using ''opener'' Jalen Beeks to start the game. This is the 10th time the Rays have used an opener this year, and they're 6-3 thus far.

Beeks is 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA. He'll be opposed by fellow left-hander Eric Lauer for Milwaukee, who is 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA.

The Rays have their lineup loaded with right-handed hitters against Lauer, which means Vidal Brujan is getting the start in center field for the first time in his career.

Here's how to watch Wednesday's early game, with TV information and starting lineups and more:

How to watch Brewers at Rays

• Who: Milwaukee Brewers (43-33) at Tampa Bay Rays (40-33)
• When: 12:10 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 29
• Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• TV: Bally Sports Sun
• Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
• Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Ryan Bass (reporter).
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 175
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest line: The Rays are favored at minus-130 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website opening line as of Wednesday afternoon. The Brewers are plus-110. The over/under is 7.5.

Projected lineups

• Brewers: Christian Yelich LF, Willy Adames SS, Andrew McCutcheon DH, Luis Urias 3B, Rowdy Tellez 1B, Mike Brosseau 3B, Victor Caratini C, Tyrone Taylor RF, Jonathan Davis CF, Eric Lauer P
• Rays: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco DH, Isaac Paredes 2B, Randy Arozarena LF, Harold Ramirez DH,  Ji-Man Choi 1B, Taylor Walls SS, Francisco Mejia C, Vidal Brujan CF, Jalen Beeks P. 

Newsy nuggets

• No. 1 — Close calls: Counting Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers, the Rays have now played a team-record 13 games in a row that have decided by two runs or less. That's shattered the former mark of nine in a row set back in 2007. It's the longest streak in the major since the New York Yankees played in 16 in a row in 2014.
• No. 2 — Interleague dominance: The Rays have been great against the National League so far this season, posting a 10-2 mark. They had won 10 in a row before last night, including recent sweeps at home of the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays play the Cincinnati Reds on the road at the end of this next road trip, playing three games on July 8-10.
• No. 3 — The bad injury bug: The Rays currently have 14 players on the injured list, most in the American League and just one behind the Reds for most in the majors. Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (hip) is expected to be activated on Friday from the 10-day injured list, and it's going to be interesting to see who the Rays send down — or release.
• No. 4 — Lack of offense: The Rays are averaging 4.04 runs per game this season, far off the pace of 5.29 runs per game a year ago. They are 11th in the AL and 24th out of 30 teams in all of baseball. Their drop of 1.25 runs a game, which is the third-largest drop in baseball behind only the Oakland Athletics (minus-1.42) and the Detroit Tigers (minus-130.)