GameDay Preview: Rays Look to Bounce Back Tuesday Night Against Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — With the series opener now behind them, the Tampa Bay Rays look to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday night when they send Ryan Yarbrough to the mound against the Texas Rangers.

Texas won the series opener 9-5 on Monday night, which dropped the Rays to 6-10 in series-opening games this season. They're 22-10 otherwise, which is a good omen.

Yarbrough has been very good lately. He pitched five no-hit inning against the New York Yankees last Thursday before getting in a little trouble in the sixth. He'll oppose Martin Perez, who's been very good this year but the Rays have a good history against him. The game starts at 8:05 p.m. ET.

The Rays will be without shortstop Wander Franco, who was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier on Tuesday with a quadriceps injury.

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

How to watch Rays at Rangers

Who: Tampa Bay Rays (28-20) at Texas Rangers (23-24)
When: 8:05 p.m. ET, Tuesday, May 31
Where: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
TV: Bally Sports Sun
Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Ryan Bass (reporter).
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 185 (Rangers broadcast; Rays broadcast online only)
Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
Latest line: The Rangers are favored at minus-118 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Tuesday afternoon. The Rays are plus-105. The over/under is 7.5.

Projected starting pitchers

Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough: Tampa Bay turns to Ryan Yarbrough to even up the series on Tuesday night. He is 0-1 with a 3.98 earned run average on the season, but he's been much better than the numbers indicate because he gave up five runs in the first inning he pitched after a month on the injured list with a groin injury. Since then, he's only given up four earned runs in four appearances, covering 18 innings, a 2.00 ERA. He pitched five no-hit innings in his last start against the New York Yankees, retiring 14 batters in a row, before giving up a hit in the sixth.
Rangers left-hander Martin Perez: Martin Perez has been the Rangers' best pitcher so far this season, sporting a 3-2 record with an impressive 1.60 ERA. He has given up one earned run or less in six consecutive starts, the longest streak in the majors. The 31-year-old Venezuelan pitched for the Rangers from 2012-18, then spent a year in Minnesota and two in Boston before returning to Texas. He faced the Rays three times last season with the Red Sox, and they hit him hard, scoring nine runs in 9 1/3 innings.

Projected lineups

Rays lineup: Manuel Margot LF, Harold Ramirez 1B, Yandy Diaz 3B, Randy Arozarena LF, Isaac Paredes 2B, Francisco Mejia DH, Mike Zunino C, Taylor Walls SS, Vidal Brujan RF, Ryan Yarbrough P.
Rangers lineup: Marcus Semien 2B, Corey Seager SS, Mitch Garver DH, Kole Calhoun RF, Adolis Garcia CF, Jonah Heim C, Sam Huff 1B, Josh Smith 3B, Eli White LF, Martin Perez P.

Newsy nuggets

No. 1 — Armstrong comes up: With shortstop Wander Franco going on the injured list, the Rays decided to call up right-hander Shawn Armstrong from Triple-A Durham. He will wear No. 64. The Rays also designated left-handed pitcher Ben Bowden for assignment. Armstrong has pitched seven innings in Durham so far this spring, allowed two earned runs.
No. 2 — Remembering Ramirez: Prior to tonight’s game, the Rays and Rangers will participate in a pre-game ceremony in remembrance of Rays bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez, who died by suicide in January, and in support of mental health awareness…Jean grew up in Fort Worth, where he and his family have worked closely with local non-profit organization, Keeper of the Game, since its inception in 2014…Keeper of the Game provides children and young adults with special needs and disabilities unique baseball experiences that foster their growth and love of baseball…over 40 family members and friends of the Ramirez’s will be at the game tonight.
No. 3 — Magic number is 4: The Rays are 21-4 this season when scoring four runs or more, and 17-3 when scoring five runs or more, compared to 7-16 when scoring three runs or fewer. All three losses when scoring five runs or more have come in the last four road games since May 20, including two walk-off losses over that stretch in Baltimore. They Rays scored five times on Monday night in the 9-5 loss.
No. 4 — Base-running blunder: The Rays have made 23 outs on the bases this season, according to Baseball Reference, by far the most in the majors. The New York Mets are second with 20). The website does not include pickoffs, caught stealing or force plays in this statistic.