GameDay Preview: Drew Rasmussen Looks to Bounce Back Saturday Against White Sox

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen has been so good for so long for the Tampa Bay Rays since coming over from Milwaukee last year that it just seems out of character when he struggles.

During his last start in Texas on Monday, the 26-year-old right-hander walked the first three hitters he faced. He had never done that before in his career, and he was the first true Rays starter since Scott Kazmir in 2009 to start a game that way.

Rasmussen wound up giving up five runs in three innings and took the loss in the 9-5 beatdown by the Rangers. It was his first loss after a 5-0 stretch that included seven straight team wins.

He's back on the mound Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field when the Rays take on the Chicago White Sox in the second game of their three-game series.

Rasmussen has allowed eight runs in his last two starts — he beat Miami 5-4 on May 25 despite giving up three runs in five innings — and that was after allowing just three runs total in his previous five combined starts, covering 26 2/3 innings with a 1.01 ERA.

Rasmussen pitched against the White Sox on April 15, taking the loss after allowing three runs in five innings. The Rays lost 3-2. The White Sox had beaten Shane McClanahan a day earlier.

Here's an interesting nugget on McClanahan and Rasmussen. Since those back-to-back losses to the White Sox, the Rays are a combined 14-2 in their 16 starts since then. The Rays, who have won three straight games and are 10 games over .500 for the first time all season, would love to add to that total.

Here's how to watch Saturday's game, with TV information and starting lineups and more.

How to watch White Sox at Rays

Who: Chicago White Sox (23-27) at Tampa Bay Rays (31-21)
When: 4:10 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 4
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
TV: Bally Sports Sun
Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 177
Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
Latest line: The Rays are favored at minus-126 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website opening line as of Friday afternoon. The White Sox are plus-108. The over/under is 7.

Projected starting pitchers

White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease: Dylan Cease has pitched well for the White Sox much of the season, hovering among the league leaders in strikeouts all season. Cease is 4-2 on the season and the White Sox are 7-3 in his starts. He's been either really good — only five earned runs in 41 1/3 innings in the seven wins, a 1.09 ERA — or really bad. In the three losses, he's allowed 17 earned runs in just 14 innings, a 10.93 ERA. Here's an amazing stat. The Rays' lineup today is just 1-for-21 all-time against Cease.
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen: Drew Rasmussen has struggled a bit after a red-hot run of just three earned runs in five games, good for a 1.01 ERA. For the year, he's 5-2 with a 3.47 earned run average.

Projected lineups

White Sox lineup: Leury Garcia 2B, Andrew Vaughn LF, Yoan Moncada 3B, Jose Abreu 1B, Luis Robert CF, Gavin Sheets RF, Yasmani Grandal DH, Danny Mendick SS, Reese McGuire C, Dylan Cease P.
Rays lineup: Kevin Kiermaier CF, Manuel Margot DH, Yandy Diaz 3B, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Randy Arozarena LF, Vidal Brujan SS, Brett Phillips RF, Isaac Paredes 2B, Mike Zunino C, Drew Rasmussen P.

Newsy nuggets

No. 1 — Choi heating up: Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi recorded a season-high-tying three RBIs in Friday's win over the White Sox. He's hit safely in four-straight games, batting .308 (4-for-13) with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. He's been good in the clutch, too, batting .361 (13-for-36) with runners in scoring position. His .333 batting average (21-for-63) ranks 10th in the American League.
No. 2 — Top pitching: Since May 11, Rays pitchers have posted a 2.50 ERA in their last 21 games, and that's the best mark in the majors over that stretch. Rays starters have a 2.36 ERA since then, and have allowed two runs or fewer in 20 of those games.
No. 3 — Lengthy injured list: With J.P Feyereisen going to the injured list on Friday, the Rays currently have 11 pitchers on the injured list. The pitchers on this list alone would make a great staff. There might be help on the way soon, though. Andrew Kittredge (low back tightness) pitched an inning for Durham on Friday, throwing 18 pitches and allowing one hit. He had a strikeout as well.
No. 4 — Streaking Rays: The Rays have won three straight games after Friday's win, the longest winning streak since they won six in a row from May 2-7 to start their West Coast trip.