Gameday Preview (Wed.): Taj Bradley Needs 'To Stay in Zone' in Matinee Start vs. Astros

Tampa Bay will try to win a series Wednesday, taking on Hunter Brown and the Houston Astros. Taj Bradley starts for the Rays. Here are the starting lineups, good pitching notes and lots of newsy nuggets from both the field and the broadcast booth.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) and chats with pitcher Hunter Brown during a start last week. He is 6-2 on the year. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

TAMPA, Fla. — It's getaway day at Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday, with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros trying to win the series in the 1:10 p.m. ET rubber game.

The Rays will have their hands full with Houston starter Hunter Brown, who is 6-2 with a 1.43 earned run average, second best in baseball to New York Yankees lefty Max Fried (1.29).

It's a big day then for Rays starter Taj Bradley, who gave up five runs in his last start on Friday in Miami and has already walked 22 batters in 50 2/3 innings this season. Runs are going to be at a premium against Brown, so Bradley has to be on his game.

"Regardless of what we're seeking, he needs to correct that (high walks total),'' Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "His best chance to do that is to commit himself to the zone with whatever pitch mix he feels good with that day. Get in the zone.

"This has been uncharacteristic for Taj because the through the minor leagues he didn't walk guys and in the early going in the big leagues, he hasn't walked guys here. He's got plenty good enough stuff to pitch in the zone with all four of his pitches.''

Here are all the details on the game:

How to watch Astros-Rays

• Who: Houston Astros (25-23) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (22-26)
• When: Wednesday, May 21 at 1:10 p.m. ET
• Where: Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: The Astros are favored on the money line at Fanduel.com at minus-158, and the Rays' money line odds are plus-134. On the run line, you can bet the Astros minus-1.5 at plus-104 odds, and the Rays plus-1.5 at minus-125 odds. The over/under is 8.5 runs.
• Weather: The forecest for 1 p.m. ET in Tampa calls for sunny skies with a temperature of 89 degrees. Winds are out of the west southwest at 11 mph, blowing out to right field.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Rays batting order

1. Yandy Diaz DH
2. Josh Lowe RF
3. Brandon Lowe 2B
4. Jonathan Aranda 1B
5. Jose Caballero SS
6. Chandler Simpson LF
7. Kameron Misner CF
8. Curtis Mead 3B
9. Ben Rortvert C

Astros batting order

1. Jeremy Pena SS
2. Isaac Paredes 3B
3. Jose Altuve DH
4. Yainer Diaz C
5. Christian Walker 1B
6. Jake Meyers CF
7. Cam Smith RF
8. Brendan Rodgers 2B
9. Mauricio Dubon LF

Pitching matchup

• TAJ BRADLEY, Tampa Bay: Bradley is 3-3 with a 4.80 earned run average this season. ... He lost his last start in Miami on Friday, giving up five runs and not making it out of the fifth inning. ... This is Bradley's 10th start of the season, and sixth at home. This is his 56th career start and fourth against Houston. … The 24-year-old right-hander from Los Angeles hasn't won a home games since April 11.

• HUNTER BROWN, Astros: Brown just might be the best right-hander in the American League right now. He's 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA , and leads all of baseball in hits per nine innings (5.2) and home runs per nine innings (0.31). ... The 26-year-old from Detroit, Mich, is making his 10th start of the season. He has 67 strikeouts and just 14 walks. ... Brown went a career-high eight innings last Friday against Texas, and had a no-hitter through five innings. But he gave up a solo homer to Jake Burger and lost 1-0. It snapped a six-game winning streak. ... Brown pitched 28 scoreless innings in a row from April 3-27, whic is the longest streak in the majors. this season.

Rays-Astros newsy nuggets

• NO DEWAYNE STAATS TODAY: Rays TV play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats is off on Wednesday for a family event. Radio announcer Andy Freed will fill in on the TV side with Brian Anderson. Neil Solondz will be joined in the radio booth by postgame show host. Chris Adams-Wall. Staats will be back on Friday when the Rays open a weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• TAYLOR WALLS SCRATCHED: Shortstop Taylor Walls was originally in the starting lineup Wednesday, but he was scratched because of a mild groin injury. Cash said Walls, who was the hero of Tuesday's win with a walk-off sacrifice fly RBI, woke up a little sore, ''and with the day off (Thursday), there was no sense to push it.
• TRAVIS JANKOWSKI 'FEELING BETTER': Rays outfielder Travis Jankowsi, on the 10-day injured list with a groin injury, said he's been running on a treadmill and took some swings in the batting cage on Wednesday. He's hoping to return soon.

Related Rays-Astros stories

• TAYLOR WALLS ON MENTAL HEALTH: Goat one night, hero the next. Playing baseball at the highest level brings out the highs and lows on a daily basis, and the mental toll it takes on players is very real. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls talked about his mental health battles after his walk-off win Tuesday against the Houston Astros. Here is Tom Brew's column. CLICK HERE

• RAYS WALK IT OFF (Tuesday): The Tampa Bay Rays did nothing for seven innings Tuesday, and it looked like another shutout loss to a left-handed pitcher. But a double steal followed by a Jonathan Aranda single tied the game, and Taylor Walls won it in the ninth with a sacrifice fly. CLICK HERE

• TOM BREW COLUMN: The American League East has the worst division record in baseball this year, which is very rare. Despite that, the Tampa Bay Rays are five games under .500 and wasting a golden opportunity to have a big season. CLICK HERE

• RAYS LOSE OPENER TO ASTROS (Monday): Tampa Bay rallied from a three-run deficit Monday night against the Houston Astros, but lost 4-3 on Jake Meyers' solo home run in the seventh inning. The 21-26 Rays are now a season-low five games under .500. CLICK HERE

• DIAZ UPSET WITH PASSPORT DELAY: Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz wasn't able to get his Cuban passport renewed in time for this week's series in Toronto, but he was back in Miami on Friday. He's frustrated by the delay, and hated missing his first three games of the season. CLICK HERE

• RAYS' INTERLEAGUE SUCCESS: Tampa Bay has a major-league best 13 interleague wins so far, and it's kept them in contact at least in the American League East race. They play three more this weekend at Miami, and they need to do some damage against the Marlins' three right-handed starters. CLICK HERE