Gameday Preview (Sunday): Rays Look to Sweep Mets in Big Apple Finale

When the Tampa Bay Rays arrived at Citi Field Friday, the New York Mets had the best record in baseball. Since then, the Rays have won twice and look for a sweep on Sunday. Here are the batting orders, a look at the starting pitchers, and so much more.

New York Mets stars Starling Marte (from left), Juan Soto and Pete Alonso (20) haven't had a lot to celebrate in this series. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

NEW YORK — They haven't been the prettiest of games, but the Tampa Bay Rays have rolled into New York and beaten the Mets — one of the top teams in baseball and certainly the best at home — two straight nights. They look for a sweep on Sunday.

That would make quite a statement even for the Rays, who are a major-league best 17-6 since May 20.

The Rays won 7-5 on Friday and 8-4 on Saturday, and both times they did it with a big inning. They erased a 5-1 deficit on Friday night with a six-run sixth inning and four frames of scoreless relief pitching. On Saturday, they were down 2-1, but scored five runs in the fourth inning and relievers blanked the Mets in the final four innings for the second day in a row.

The Rays are now 38-32, six games over .500 for the just the second time this season, and are 4.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. After the game, they return home for a seven-game homestand with the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. The Mets are now 45-26, second-best in baseball now, a half-game behind the Tigers, who are 46-26.

Here are the details on Sunday's game:

How to watch Rays-Mets

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (38-32) vs. New York Mets (45-26)
• When: Sunday, June 15 at 1:40 p.m. ET
• Where: Citi Field, New York, N.Y.
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: The Mets are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-150, and the Rays' money line odds are plus-130. On the run line, you can bet the Mets minus-1.5 at plus-130 odds, and the Rays plus-1.5 runs at minus-165 odds. The over/under is 7.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Rays batting order

1. Josh Lowe RF
2. Brandon Lowe 2B
3. Junior Caminero DH
4. Jonathan Aranda 1B
5. Jake Mangum LF
6. Jose Caballero 3B
7. Kameron Misner CF
8. Danny Jansen C
9. Taylor Walls SS

Mets batting order

1. Francisco Lindor DH
2. Brandon Limmo LF
3. Juan Soto RF
4. Pete Alonso 1B
5. Jeff McNeil 2B
6. Tyrone Taylor CF
7. Brett Baty 3B
8. Francisco Alvarez C
9. Luisangel Acuna SS

Pitching matchup

• SHANE BAZ, Tampa Bay Rays: Shane Baz is 5-3 with a 4.97 earned run average, and it's been going up steadily during his last eight starts since May 1. ... In that stretch, he's allowed three runs or more in seven of his eight starts. ... The Houston native, who turns 26 on Tuesday, is making his 14th start this season, and 37th of his career. This is the first time he's faced the New York Mets. ... Baz's strikeout-to-walk ratio is 2.5, the lowest of his career. Even more mind-boggling is that he had 21 strikeouts and just one walk in his first two wins, so that's 25 walks and 44 strikeouts in his other 11 starts. ... Baz hasn't had a quality start — minimum six innings, maximum three runs allowed — since April 25. ... Baz has allowed 13 home runs this season.

• GRIFFIN CANNING, New York Mets: Griffin Canning is 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA, and this is the first time in his six-year career that he's been four games over .500. ... Griffin, a 29-year-old right-hander from Mission Viejo, Calif., has never had a season ERA below 3.99, so this is clearly the best year of his career. ... This is his 14th start of the season. He has allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his 13 starts. ... Canning has struggled with control at times. He had four walks in consecutive games on May 23 and May 28 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, both team losses. ... Canning has allowed just eight home runs in 64 1/3 innings. He gave up two home runs in his last start against Washington on June 10.

Newsy Rays nuggets

• GIBSON IMPRESSES AT DURHAM: The Rays took a flier on veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, signing the 37-year-old Indiana native to a minor-league deal. He's been good at Triple-A Durham, allowing just one run over 12 1/3 innings. He's had 14 strikeouts and has given up just 10 hits. Gibson was released in May by Baltimore with an 0-3 record and a 16.78 ERA. It will be interesting to see what the Rays decide to do with Gibson.

• RARE SLOPPY WIN: The Rays allowed five unearned runs allowed Friday thanks to three errors — and won any way. That's only happened once before in franchise history. They also did it on May 21, 1999 against the Angels. The Rays are known for their defense, but they've committed 34 errors this season, which is just middle of the pack in MLB, tied for 14th out of 30 teams.

• INTERLEAGUE SUCCESS: The Rays have really played well against the National League so far, going 18-11 in interleague play. Here's are all the results so far, plus a look at the remaining schedule against NL foes. CLICK HERE

• DAILY FANTASY NUGGET: New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto is 3-for-4 all-time against Shane Baz. Several Rays hitters have had some success against Mets starter Griffin Canning. Josh Lowe is 2-for-4, and Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda each have a home run against him.

Related Rays stories

• TOM BREW COLUMN: All five Tampa Bay starting pitchers have made 14 starts in a row since the beginning of the season, making Kevin Cash's job easy. But with Taj Bradley and Shane Baz struggling lately, is the streak about to end? There are other options at the ready. CLICK HERE

• RAYS GET WHATLEY FROM ASTROS: The Tampa Bay Rays acquired former top prospect Forrest Whitley for cash considerations on Friday afternoon, and manager Kevin Cash confirms that they will use him in the bullpen moving forward. CLICK HERE