Gameday Preview: Ryan Yarbrough Starts for Rays in Season Finale vs. Mariners; Lineups, Nuggets

SEATTLE, Wash. — Ryan Yarbrough gets his second start of the season on Sunday for Tampa Bay, hoping to help keep their West Coast winning streak alive.

The Rays (18-12) have won the first six games of this 10-day, 10-game road trip, winning all three games in Oakland and the first three here in Seattle. Yarbrough pitched in Oakland on Tuesday, but struggled. He gave up five runs in the first inning, and left in the third. The Rays came back to win 10-7, though.

Yarbrough wants a better performance this time around,

"It was just a matter of rhythm and timing,'' Yarbrough said. "I got a little cutter happy a little bit, and got away from the changeup a little too much. It's just a few subtle changes that I need to make. I was so synched up in the spring, but I got punched in the teeth that first outing back.

"I feel like I'm in a good spot, though. Now it's just a matter of getting back to pitching and figure out what works best. It's just a matter of staying away from the walks, and getting more strikes early in the count, getting more swing commitments early in the count.''

Here's how to watch Sunday's game, with gametime and TV information, the starting lineups, bios and, of course, our great daily dose of newsy nuggets.

How to watch Rays at Mariners

Who: Tampa Bay Rays (18-10) at Seattle Mariners (12-16)
When: 4:10 p.m. ET, Sunday, May 8
Where: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Wash.
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 183 (Mariners broadcast; Rays online only)
Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
Latest Line: Seattle is favored at minus-118 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Sunday afternoon. The Rays are plus-105. The over/under is 7.5.

Rays-Mariners history

Rays vs. Mariners all-time series history: Seattle holds a 108-84 edge in the series dating back to 1998. The Rays are just 43-56 in Seattle, but have won the first three games in this series. Last year, Tampa Bay went 1-6 against Seattle, and lost all four games in the Pacific Northwest. The Rays won two of three games in St. Petersburg last week, so at 5-1 through Friday, they have already won the season series. The five wins are the most ever for the Rays in seven-game season series versus the Mariners.,

Rays-Mariners most recent game

Rays 8, Mariners 2: Getting the start against the team he grew up rooting for, Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one run in five innings and got a ton of run support in the Rays' 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Brandon Lowe hit two early home runs and Manuel Margot, who is on fire, hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to leave no doubt in the Rays' 8-2 victory. CLICK HERE

Projected starting pitchers

Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough: The start to Ryan Yarbrough's season hasn't turned out the way he wanted. First he missed nearly a month with a groin injury, and then his first start went off the rails last Tuesday in Oakland, when he gave up five runs in the first inning, and wound up pitching just 2 1/3 innings. He gave up six hits and three walks.
Mariners right-hander George Kirby: Highly touted Seattle prospect George Kirby makes in major-league debut on Sunday. Kirby, who's 24 years old and pitched collegiately at Elon, was the 20th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He has a high-90s fastball and made five starts at Double-A Arkansas. He pitched 24 2/3 innings, posting a 1.82 ERA and striking out 32 to just five walks.

Projected lineups

Rays lineup: Brandon Lowe 2B, Wander Franco SS, Randy Arozarena LF, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Harold Ramirez DH, Fransisco Mejia C, Maneul Margot RF, Brett Phillips CF, Taylor Walls 3B, Ryan Yarbrough P.
Mariners lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Ty France 1B, Julio Rodriguez CF, Eugenio Suarez DH, Jesse Winker LF, Abraham Toro 3B, Luis Torrens C, Jarred Kelenic RF, Dylan Moore SS, Mario Gonzales P.

Newsy nuggets

Nugget No. 1: Seattle's star shortstop, J.P. Crawford, left Saturday night's game with back spasms, and he's not in the lineup on Sunday. The Mariners are calling the injury day-to-day, but it's a nice break for the Rays considering that he is their best hitter. He's hitting .340 this year, with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
Nugget No. 2: Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi is back in the lineup for Tampa Bay on Sunday, playing first base and hitting fourth. He is hitting .357 on the season with two home runs and 10 RBIs, so Cash said Sunday morning that he's thrilled to be able to add his name to the lineup card again. "It's really good to have him back. He started the season off in such a strong way and he has a big influence on our offense. We're happy that this injury subsided, and he looked totally normal in batting practice (on Saturday), and we were encouraged by that, so let's get him back in the lineup.''
Nugget No. 3: To make room for Choi, the Rays had to send down infielder Isaac Parades. He left the clubhouse right before gametime, headed back to Durham, but he made a nice impression on Cash during the past week. He played in six games, going 5-for-19 at the plate, a .263 average, and playing well defensively at third base. "I was very impressed, for a guy we didn't know much about when we acquired him. He looks like a baseball player to me. He made a lot of nice plays defensively and put together a lot of good at-bats. We're fortunate to have him, and I would envision that we see him again.
Nugget No. 4: Sunday is Mother's Day, and there's plenty of pink in the Rays' locker room. Many players are wearing pink socks and belts, and some have pink shoes, gloves and bats. The Rays are also wearing a gray hat with pink lettering.