Gameday Preview (Saturday): Rays Need Big Outing From Houser in Showdown With Giants

Adrian Houser pitched well for the Chicago White Sox all season, but he's lost his first two starts with the Tampa Bay Rays. Here's his story, plus starting lineups and newsy nuggets featuring Josh Lowe, Junior Caminero and Christopher Morel updates.

Tampa Bay pitcher Adrian Houser has struggled in his first two starts with the Rays, and he's hoping to be better Saturday in San Francisco. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The San Francisco Giants have been historically bad at home since July 11, losing 14 of 15 games. So it might be time for Tampa Bay starter Adrian Houser to get back to his dominating ways.

The 32-year-old Houser, acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline for Curtis Mead and others, was 6-2 with a sporty 2.10 earned run average when he joined the Rays. But he's lost his first two starts in a Tampa Bay uniform on this long West Coast trip, giving up five runs to the Los Angeles Angles on Aug. 4, and four more in a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Houser gave up four runs in the first inning at Seattle, but then pitched four scoreless innings afterward, allowing just two hits. The Rays were able to get back in the game, cutting the lead to 4-3 when Houser departed.

He was really good after that first inning, so manager Kevin Cash and the Rays hope to see more of that on Saturday night at Oracle Park.

"Just throw like he did from the second inning on. It was really good, it was impressive,'' Cash said of Houser in the Rays' dugout. "I give him a lot of credit because it had to be frustrating with the way that game was. He did a nice job of resetting himself and getting outs when we needed to keep us in the ballgame.

"We need him to get outs early in the game, and I'm confident he will do that.''

Houser's opposition is 42-year-old future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. He's just 1-9 this season with a 4.53 ERA. He had been better lately, allowing just one earned run over three starts from July 23 to Aug. 4, but he gave up five runs and 11 hits in an 8-0 loss to Washington last Sunday.

Here are the details on the game.

How to watch Rays-Giants

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (60-63) vs. San Francisco Giants (59-63)
• When: Saturday, Aug. 16 at 9:05 p.m. ET
• Where: Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif.
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: This game is a pick 'em, with the Rays and Giants both at minus-110 on the money line. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-140 odds, and the Giants plus-1.5 at minus-185 odds. The over/under is 7.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams.

Rays batting order

1. Chandler Simpson LF
2. Yandy Diaz DH
3. Brandon Lowe 2B
4. Junior Caminero 3B
5. Jake Mangum RF
6. Ha-Seong Kim SS
7. Bob Seymour 1B
8. Everson Pereira CF
9. Nick Fortes C

Giants batting order

1. Heliot Ramos LF
2. Rafael Devers 1B
3. Willy Adames SS
4. Dominic Smith DH
5. Jung Hoo Lee CF
6. Christian Koss 3B
7. Tyler Fitzgerald 2B
8. Grant McCray RF
9. Andrew Knizner C

Rays-Giants newsy nuggets

• JOSH LOWE SCRATCHED: Rays right fielder Josh Lowe was originally in the starting lineup on Saturday night, but he was scratched about an hour before the game because of right oblique tightness. Lowe, 27, injured an obligue on Opening Day and missed the first six weeks of the season. He's hitting .229 on the year with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 76 games. Everson Pereira replaced Lowe in the lineup, with Jake Mangum moving from center field to right.

• WIN THE SERIES: After winning 7-6 on Friday night, the Rays have a chance to win a series on Saturday, and that will be three series victories on this four-city, 12-game West Coast road trip. That would be a stark departure from what went on the previous month, where the Rays only won one series in 10. They also haven't won three straight games since June 24-26, nearly eight weeks ago.

• ANOTHER CAMINERO RECORD: Rays third baseman Junior Caminero hit another home run on Friday night, his seventh of this trip. That set a Rays franchise record, besting Jose Canseco (1999) and Logan Morrison (2017) in team history. According to StatsPerform, there's only been one MLB who's hit seven homers on a road trip since 2022, and the answer might surprise you. That would be Christopher Morel, who did it in 2023 with the Chicago Cubs.

Related Rays-Giants stories

• TOM BREW COLUMN: Bob Seymour is 26 years old, and the St. John, Ind. native has been dreaming of making it to the big leagues for years. That dream came true Friday night, when he made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in San Francisco. His family was there to see it. CLICK HERE

• RAYS TOP GIANTS IN SERIES OPENER (Friday): The Tampa Bay Rays stuck around early, and then beat the San Francisco Giants late with a Yandy Diaz RBI single in the ninth inning, evening their record at 5-5 on this season-long West Coast road trip. Chandler Simpson had three hits. CLICK HERE

• ADAMES REUNITES WITH RAYS: Willy Adames is on a short list of all-time favorite Tampa Bay Rays players, and even though he's been gone since 2021, the new San Francisco Giants shortstop was thrilled to see a lot of old friends on Friday night at Oracle Park. CLICK HERE

• SEE MORE SEYMOURS — ALL THREE: There have only been five Seymours in major-league baseball history, and none since 1913 before this year. But Friday night, Tampa Bay's Ian Seymour and Bob Seymour both played, as did San Francisco reliever Carson Seymour. Three Seymours — in one game. CLICK HERE