Gameday Preview: Taj Bradley Gets the Call to Pitch Series Opener at Miami on Friday
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MIAMI, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays make their annual trek to Miami this weekend to take on the Marlins in a three-game set, and they'll hand the ball to Taj Bradley to get things off on the right foot.
Bradley is 3-2 with a 4.40 earned run average this season. Much like all of his colleagues in the Rays' rotation, he's been very good at times, but he's gotten lit up, too. In his last three starts, he's only given up two earned runs in each game, and the Rays won on May 4 at New York and last Saturday against Milwaukee.
The Rays, who are 9-2 in their last 11 road games, have won six straight series against Miami, and are 25-4 in the last 29 meetings. That .857 winning percentage is the best record vs. a single opponent in the major-leagues over the past six years, with a minimum of 15 games played.
Josh Lowe, who had three hits in his return Thursday, is back in the lineup on Friday as well. He's batting second and playing right field. Yandy Diaz, who missed the Toronto series because of a passport issue, is back in the lineup as well. He's batting leadoff.
Here's how to watch the game on Friday night:
How to watch Rays-Marlins
- Who: Tampa Bay Rays (20-23) vs. Miami Marlins (16-26)
- When: Friday, May 16 at 7:10 p.m. ET
- Where: loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.
- TV: FanDuel Sports Sun, WTOG-Tampa Bay 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 Fanduel.com at minus-120, and the Marlins' money line odds are plus-102. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-126 odds, and the Marlins plus-1.5 at minus-152 odds. The over/under is 8.5 runs.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams.
Rays batting order
- Yandy Diaz DH
- Josh Lowe RF
- Brandon Lowe 2B
- Junior Caminero 3B
- Jonathan Aranda 1B
- Kameron Misner CF
- Jose Caballero SS
- Ben Rortvert C
- Chandler Simpson LF
Marlins batting order
Jesus Sanchez RF
Agustin Ramirez C
Connor Norby DH
Kyle Stowers LF
Eric Wagaman 1B
Ronny Simon 2B
Graham Pauley 3B
Derek Hill CF
Javier Sanoja SS
Pitching matchup
- TAJ BRADLEY, Tampa Bay: This is Bradley's ninth start of the season. He's faced the Marlins once before, giving up four runs in five innings on July 31 last year and took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. ... The 24-year-old right-hander from Los Angeles has pitched at least five innings in 10 straight starts dating back to Sept. 21, 2024. ... He has a 5-2 record with a 3.59 ERA during that span. ... When Bradley is on, he's really on. He's thrown five innings or more in 42 of his 54 career starts, and opponents have hit just .210 in those games. ... The Rays have gone 25-17 in those 42 starts..
- MAX MEYER, Marlins: Max Meyer is 2-4 with a 4.37 earned run average for Miami. The 26-year-old right-hander from Woodbury, Minn., got off to a good start, but he's allowed five earned runs in three straight outings.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- TOM BREW COLUMN: 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
- RAYS BEAT JAYS 8-3 (Thurs.): Josh Lowe was back in the Tampa Bay lineup on Thursday for the first time since Opening Day. He had three hits, including a home run, in the Rays' 8-3 win over Toronto. Teammate Brandon Lowe had three hits as well, including two homers and 4 RBIs. CLICK HERE
- SCHEDULE NIGHTMARE: Finding parking spaces for Tampa Bay Rays fans AND Tampa Bay Buccaneers rooters on the same day is going to be a challenge on Sunday, Sept. 21. Both teams will play at the same time at stadiums across the street from each other on Dale Mabry Highway. 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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