Rays take on the Dodgers in first of 3-game series
Los Angeles Dodgers (31-20, first in the NL West) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (37-15, first in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 5.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 30 strikeouts); Rays: Jalen Beeks (1-2, 4.68 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
: Rays -120, Dodgers +101; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday to start a three-game series.
Tampa Bay has a 37-15 record overall and a 24-5 record in home games. The Rays are 19-5 in games when they did not give up a home run.
Los Angeles has a 31-20 record overall and a 14-13 record on the road. Dodgers hitters have a collective .451 slugging percentage to rank third in the majors.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Wander Franco has 15 doubles, two triples and seven home runs while hitting .288 for the Rays. Jose Siri is 11-for-35 with a double and five home runs over the last 10 games.
Max Muncy ranks sixth on the Dodgers with 17 extra base hits (two doubles and 15 home runs). J.D. Martinez is 13-for-43 with three doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .241 batting average, 5.45 ERA, outscored by six runs
Dodgers: 5-5, .262 batting average, 5.75 ERA, even run differential
INJURIES: Rays: Zack Littell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Rasmussen: 60-Day IL (flexor strain), Garrett Cleavinger: 60-Day IL (knee), Jeffrey Springs: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shawn Armstrong: 60-Day IL (neck), Shane Baz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tyler Glasnow: 15-Day IL (oblique), Andrew Kittredge: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Dodgers: Tyler Cyr: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Dustin May: 60-Day IL (forearm), Julio Urias: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Jimmy Nelson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alex Reyes: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Daniel Hudson: 60-Day IL (knee), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (oblique), Michael Grove: 15-Day IL (groin), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (knee), Walker Buehler: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), J.P. Feyereisen: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
