Gameday Preview (Saturday): Shane Baz Tries to Regain Form vs. Blue Jays

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have won three straight home games, and they'd love to add on to that during the second game of a series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Satruday. To do that, they'll need pitcher Shane Baz to turn his month around.

Baz, who was 3-0 in April, is 0-3 through four starts in May. He's given up 21 earned runs this month and hasn't looked good at all since pitching seven scoreless innings in San Diego on April 25. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET.

The Rays are 3-1 against the Blue Jays so far this season. They have a lefty-heavy lineup against Toronto starter Jose Berrios, and are hoping to ride the hot bats of Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe near the top of the order. First baseman Jonathan Aranda is back in the lineup as well. Aranda is 5-for-10 all-time against Berrios. Leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz is hitting .357 vs. him, as well.

Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 4-for-10 all-time vs. Baz, but the rest of the starting lineup is just 5-for-38 against him, a collective .132 batting average.

Here are all the details on the game:

How to watch Blue Jays-Rays

Who: Toronto Blue Jauys (25-25) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (24-26)
When: Saturday, May 24 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Where: Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.
TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
Betting information: The Rays are favored on the money line at Fanduel.com at minus-116, and the Blue Jays' money line odds are plus-102. On the run line, you can bet the Blue Jays minus-1.5 at plus-162 odds, and the Rays plus-1.5 runs at minus-196 odds. The over/under is 8.5 runs.
Weather: The forecest for 7 p.m. ET in Tampa calls for sunny skies with a temperature of 89 degrees. Winds are out of the northwest at 9 mph, blowing in slightly from left field.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Blue Jays batting order

Bo Bichette SS
Vladimir Guerrrero Jr. 1B
Daulton Varsho CF
George Springer DH
Alejandro Kirk C
Anthony Santandar RF
Addison Barger 3B
Ernie Clement 2B
Nathan Lukes LF

Rays batting order

Yandy Diaz DH
Josh Lowe RF
Brandon Lowe 2B
Junior Caminero 3B
Jonathan Aranda1B
Jose Caballero SS
Kamerson Misner CF
Danny Jansen C
Chander Simpson LF

Pitching matchup

JOSE BERRIOS, Toronto: Bradley is 3-3 with a 4.80 earned run average this season. ... He lost his last start in Miami on Friday, giving up five runs and not making it out of the fifth inning. ... This is Bradley's 10th start of the season, and sixth at home. This is his 56th career start and fourth against Houston. … The 24-year-old right-hander from Los Angeles hasn't won a home games since April 11.

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay: Baz is making his 10th start of the season, and he's 3-3 with a 5.33 ERA. ... The 25-year-old from Houston, Texas has had a rough May. He's 0-3 with a 9.61 ERA in four starts. He was 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in April. ... Baz is tied for the club lead in strikeouts with 48. Taj Bradley also has 48, but has already made his 10th start. ... Baz has made four starts against Toronto is his career, and he's done well. He has a 2-0 record with a 2.91 ERA. ... Baz is much better at night so far this season. He is 3-1 in night games with a 3.18 ERA. He's 0-2 during the day with a 10.20 ERA.

Newsy nuggets

RUNNING LIKE THE WIND: Tampa Bay's 68 stolen bases are tied with Milwaukee for the most in the majors. The Rays have stolen a base in nine straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in club history and their longest since July 9-21, 2024. Their last longer streak was 11 games from May 24 to June 4, 2023. ...Jose Caballero leads the team with 15 stolen bases. Chandler Simpson is next with 13. ... Seven other Rays have stolen three bases or more.

FAIRBANKS MAKING HISTORY: Pete Fairbanks earned his 72nd career save Friday night, surpassing Danys Baez for fourth most in Rays history. Fernando Rodney (85) is third on the list. … Fairbanks has not allowed an earned run in 13 of his last 14 appearances, pitching to a 1.35 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and .140 (7-for-50) opponents' batting average. He has not allowed an earned run in a save situation this season, and his nine saves are eighth-most in the American League. He has 57 saves since the start of 2023, fifth-most in the AL during the past two-plus seasons.

SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR RAYS: The Tampa Bay Rays are moving two games on their schedule to avoid same-day conflicts with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One is with St. Louis in August, and the other is the final game of teh season vs. Boston, which is being moved to the evening. To read the complete story, CLICK HERE