Gameday Preview (Tues.): Rays Hope To Continue Winning Ways in Zack Littell Starts vs. Astros
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TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have won four straight Zack Littell starts, and they hope to continue their winning ways with him on the mound Tuesday night against the Houston Astros.
It's been a tale of two halves so far for Littell. He was 0-5 in his first five starts, getting very little run support, and he had a few shaky outings of his own. But he's been really sharp in wins over San Diego, the New York Yankees, Milwaukee and Toronto, pitching seven innings or more twice. He's 3-0 with a 3.20 earned run average in that span, with a WHIP of just 0.99.
The Rays have lost three of four games since that last Littell start, so they're hoping for good things on Tuesday at Steinbrenner Field. They are also hoping to score some runs against a left-handed starters, something they've struggled with all season.
Here are all the facts on the game:
How to watch Astros-Rays
- Who: Houston Astros (25-22) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (21-26)
- When: Tuesday, May 20 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-136, and the Astros' money line odds are plus-116. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-146 odds, and the Astros plus-1.5 at minus-176 odds. The over/under is 9.5 runs.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
Rays batting order
- Yandy Diaz DH
- Jose Caballero CF
- Jonathan Aranda 1B
- Junior Caminero 3B
- Christopher Morel LF
- Danny Jansen C
- Josh Lowe RF
- Taylor Walls SS
- Curtis Mead 2B
Astros batting order
- Jeremy Pena SS
- Isaac Paredes 3B
- Jose Altuve 2B
- Christian Walker 1B
- Victor Caratini C
- Jake Meyers CF
- Zach Dezenzo DH
- Cam Smith RF
- Chas McCormick LF
Pitching matchup
- ZACK LITTELL, Tampa Bay: This is Littell's 10th start of the season, and fifth at home. This is his 57th career start and fourth against Houston. He's done well against the Astros, going 2-0 with a 2.30 in the three starts and he allowed two runs or fewer in all three games … The 29-year-old right-hander from Burlington, N.C. pitched into the eighth inning in his last start, his longest start since pitching 8.0 innings on Sept. 7, 2023 against Seattle.
- BRANDON WALTER, Astros: Walter, a 28-year-old left-hander from New Castle, Delaware, is making his 2025 debut. ... He pitched nine games in relief for the Boston Red Sox in 2023, pitching 23 innings with a 6.26 ERA. ... Walter has pitched well at Triple-A Sugar Land, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.27 ERA. ...The Rays have struggled against left-handed pitching all season, hitting just .182 on the season.
Related Rays-Astros stories
- TOM BREW COLUMN: The American League East has the worst division record in baseball this year, which is very rare. Despite that, the Tampa Bay Rays are five games under .500 and wasting a golden opportunity to have a big season. CLICK HERE
- RAYS LOSE OPENER TO ASTROS: Tampa Bay rallied from a three-run deficit Monday night against the Houston Astros, but lost 4-3 on Jake Meyers' solo home run in the seventh inning. The 21-26 Rays are now a season-low five games under .500. CLICK HERE
- DIAZ UPSET WITH PASSPORT DELAY: Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz wasn't able to get his Cuban passport renewed in time for this week's series in Toronto, but he was back in Miami on Friday. He's frustrated by the delay, and hated missing his first three games of the season. CLICK HERE
- RAYS' INTERLEAGUE SUCCESS: Tampa Bay has a major-league best 13 interleague wins so far, and it's kept them in contact at least in the American League East race. They play three more this weekend at Miami, and they need to do some damage against the Marlins' three right-handed starters. 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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