Gameday Preview: How To Watch Rays' Matinee Vs. A's; Notes, Lineups, Pregame Chatter

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Tampa Bay Rays played late into the night on Tuesday, pulling out a great overtime victory over the Oakland A's, and now they turn right around with an early game on Wednesday to wrap up the season series.

The afternoon game starts at 3:37 p.m. ET, with the season series on the line. It's tied 3-3 right now after two Rays wins. They're on a roll again, and they like it that way.

“We’ve grinded through some series and some games it feels like basically all season long,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “But this is a feel-good win that you’re able to come out on top coming back. Whatever this month has told us, the guys haven’t changed their thought process whatsoever. It’s a very similar group that knows that they’re capable of doing special things on any given night.”

Or any given day. It's Corey Kluber on the mound for the Rays today in a good pitcher's duel with Oakland ace Frankie Montas.

Kluber has pitched well so far in his four starts, and is looking for more of the same on Wednesday. He's been effective with all of his pitches, especially the change-up, which he's worked into his repertoire more often, and it's keeping hitters off-balance.

"I think it's another pitch for hitters to think about,'' Kluber said Tuesday in the Rays' locker room. "It's another look, a change of speed, with a different look from the breaking balls. As a starter, you want to feel your way through the lineup and see what they want to do. I'm not going to throw 75 percent fastballs anymore, so not keying in on one pitch and keeping them off-balance works best for me.

"For me, taking the scouting report and marrying that with what I feel my strengths are and finding to get through a lineup, that's what works best for me. With the change-up, hitters let you know how good it is, and how well it works for you.''

Kluber said pitching a day game doesn't affect his routine all that much other than ''just trying to get to bed earlier maybe, and getting a good night's sleep. I'll have breakfast and be ready to go.''

Cash has been impressed with the 12-year veteran so far this season, which doesn't come as any surprise.

“He has been throwing the ball well and everything is trending in the right direction for Klubs,'' Cash said.

Here's how to watch Tuesday's game, with gametime and TV information, the starting lineups, bios and, of course, our great daily dose of newsy nuggets. Back on Bally Sports Sun tonight.

How to watch Rays at Athletics

Who: Tampa Bay Rays (14-10) at Oakland Athletics (10-14)
When: 3:37 p.m. ET, Wednesday, May 4
Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV: Bally Sports Sun
Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (in-game reporter).
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 180 (A's broadcast; Rays online only)
Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-125 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Tuesday afternoon. The A's are plus-105. The over/under is 6.5, the lowest number of the season for the second night in a row.

Athletics-Rays history

Athletics vs. Rays all-time series history: Oakland holds a 116-83 edge in the series dating back to 1998. The Rays are just 36-62 in Oakland, but have won two straight. Last year, Tampa Bay went 3-4. They split a series 2-2 in St. Petersburg from April 26-29, and the A's won two of three from May 7-9 in Oakland. This year, Oakland came to St. Petersburg in the second series of the season and took three of four games from the Rays. The only game the Rays won was a 9-8 slugfest, with Manuel Margot hitting the game-winning single in the 10th inning. The series is now tied at 3-3, with Wednesday's game the last time these two teams will see each other this season.

Athletics-Rays most recent games

Rays 10, A's 7: Pinch-hitter Mike Zunino hit a dramatic two-run homer in the ninth inning to tie the game, and then the Rays exploded for five runs in the 10th inning to beat Oakland 10-7, their second straight win in the series. The Rays bullpen was spectacular once again, coming to the rescue after Ryan Yarbrough gave up five runs in the first inning. For the complete game story, CLICK HERE

Projected starting pitchers

Rays right-hander Corey. Kluber: Corey Kluber is 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA through four starts and has been mostly good all season. He gave up four runs and 11 hits in a loss to Boston, but otherwise has pitched 15 2/3 innings while only allowing three runs.
Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas: Frankie Montas is the ace of the A's staff, but he's just 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA. He's made five starts so far, including one against the Rays back on April 13, when he pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed just one earned run in an Oakland 4-2 victory.

Projected lineups

Rays lineup: Yandy Diaz 1B, Wander Franco DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Brandon Lowe 2B, Manuel Margot DH, Taylor Walls SS, Mike Zunino C, Isaac Paredes 3B, Brett Phillips CF, Corey Kluber P.
Athletics lineup: Tony Kemp 2B, Spencer Neuse 3B, Jed Lowrie DH, Sean Murphy C, Seth Brown 1B,. Steven Piscotty RF, Chad Pinson LF, Kevin Smith SS, Christian Pache CF, Frankie Mantas P

Newsy nuggets

Nugget No. 1: Kevin Cash said in his pregame meeting with the local media that he expects catcher Francisco Mejia to rejoin the team in Seattle at some point this weekend. Mejia, who's been out with COVID-19, is hitting .348 with two homers and 10 RBIs. He hasn't played since April 20.
Nugget No. 2: With Tuesday night's thrilling 10-7 win in extra innings, the Rays have now won four of their last five series, and are 14-10 on the season. That's a 94.5 win pace, which is impressive for a team that's dealt with a lot of pitching injuries and have a lot of bats that haven't really heated up yet.
Nuggets No. 3: The Rays have a chance to sweep the A's with a win on Wednesday. They've done that four times before, but always at Tropicana Field. Oakland is one of three American League that the Rays have never swept on the road. The Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers are the others
Nugget No. 4: Cash said that he expects Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder and bench coach Matt Quatraro, who have been out with COVID-related issues, to return to the team on Thursday in Seattle. The Rays play a four-game series with the Mariners this weekend. They play night games Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and then a day game on Sunday that starts at 4:10 p.m. ET.
BONUS Nugget No. 5: Rays reliever Robert Dugger, who saved the bullpen arms on Sunday by pitching the final 5 1/3 innings of the 9-3 loss to the Twins, was designated for assignment to make room for Ryan Yarbrough on the roster, but he was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.