Gameday Preview (Monday): Rays See Familiar Face in Athletics' Jacob Lopez

The Tampa Bay Rays face an old teammate on Monday night when they start a three-game series in Tampa against the Athletics. Jacob Lopez, who played parts of two seasons with the Rays, gets the start. Here's his story, plus batting orders and more.

Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez faces his former teammates on Monday night when he takes on the Tampa Bay Rays. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

TAMPA, Fla. — The (no city) Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays have a lot in common this year, playing in temporary ballparks for different reasons. They get together for the first time in Tampa on Monday night, and the Rays will see a familiar face on the mound.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez, who pitched in four games with the Rays in each of the past two seasons, was traded to the Athletics in the offseason along with Jeffrey Springs, who pitches Tuesday night. He had some moments — allowing just one run and two hits to the Los Angeles Dodgers in an emergency start last year and pitching three innings of one-run ball to get a save at San Francisco in his MLB debut — but there was just no room for him in the Rays' rotation.

He's found a home with the A's after the trade, and he's 2-4 with a 3.56 earned run average this season. This will be his 12th start of the year.

"He did some good things for us,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the 27-year-old, "I was just talking to (radio announcer) Andy (Freed) about it, and you know, the outing he had in LA was pretty spectacular. I think the year prior to that, the outing he had at the Giants stadium was really impressive.

"So, we asked a lot of him and we asked him to pitch in different roles that he wasn't accustomed to. I appreciate those efforts and taking the ball for us, and I'm happy that he's had some success over here as of late."

He's got a chore on his hands Monday night, facing Drew Rasmussen, who's become the ace of the Rays staff. He is 7-5, but has a 2.45 ERA, eighth best in baseball.

Here the details on how to watch Monday night's game:

How to watch Athletics-Rays

• Who: The Athletics (34-52) at Tampa Bay Rays (47-37)
• When: Monday, June 30 at 7:35 p.m. ET
• Where: Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Fla.
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: The Rays are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-185, and the Athletics' money line odds are plus-155. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-105 odds, and the Athletics plus-1.5 runs at minus-130 odds. The over/under is 8.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Athletics batting order

1. Lawrence Butler RF
2. Jacob Wilson SS
3. Brent Rooker DH
4. Nick Kurtz 1B
5. Shea Langeliers C
6. Tyler Soderstrom LF
7. Max Muncy 3B
8. Luis Urias 2B
9. Denzel Clarke CF

Rays batting order

1. Yandy Diaz DH
2. Curtis Mead 2B
3. Junior Caminero 3B
4. Christopher Morel LF
5. Jake Mangum CF
6. Jonathan Aranda 1B
7. Jose Caballero RF
8. Danny Jansen C
9. Taylor Walls SS

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