How to Watch Rays Attempt to Avoid Sweep vs Reds: Preview, Television, Stream, Radio

The Tampa Bay Rays will be facing the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, here's how to watch.

Apr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nick Martinez (28) delivers a pitch to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at PNC Park. | Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

After a strong stretch of baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays have hit a little bit of a rough patch and have lost three games in a row to National League Central opponents.

On Tuesday, the Rays were hoping to get back on track with Steven Matz taking the hill. The southpaw was having a strong season coming into the start, but the Reds’ offense got the best of him in the game. 

Matz went just three innings, allowing four runs, with three home runs. It was clear that he didn’t have it in this one, and he has seen his ERA balloon up to 4.81. After Matz left the game, the bullpen didn’t do much better. 

While the pitching staff might have had a bad night, the offense did wake up a bit. Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero both had nice games, with Aranda hitting a three-run home run. Now, with the team staring at being swept at home, they will need to get a win on Wednesday. Here’s how to watch them try to avoid the sweep. 

Who: Cincinnati Reds vs. Tampa Bay Rays 

When: April 22, 2026, 1:10 PM EDT

Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Television: Rays.TV 

Radio: WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM

Pitching Matchup: 

Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

Following three straight losses, Tampa Bay will be sending right-hander Nick Martinez to the mound to snap the skid. So far this season, Martinez has been doing very well and has been a great addition to the team. This year, he has totaled a 2.45 ERA in four starts and has exceeded expectations. The Cincinnati offense has been really good in this series, and it will be a challenging matchup for Martinez. 

Taking the mound for the Reds in this one will be left-handed pitcher Brandon Williamson. The southpaw has a 2-1 record and 4.35 ERA. Since a bad outing in his season debut, Williamson has been really strong since then. 

This will be another challenging game for the Rays, and they will be hoping to avoid getting swept. Furthermore, with a 12-11 record, staying above the .500 mark will be important. 

Hopefully, the offense getting going will be a little sign of things to come for the team. This is a unit that has been much better than expected so far this season, but has slipped up a bit of late. With six runs in the loss, replicating that on Wednesday should result in success.