Preview: Ryne ‘The Opener’ Stanek vs Gerrit Cole
The Rays hope to end the Astros 11 game win streak
Tonight, the Tampa Bay Rays continue their grueling month of June schedule as they travel to Houston to take on the AL West leading Astros.
Heading into play tonight, the Rays have a record of 33-38, having just lost three of four to the New York Yankees. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros are 48-25 and have won 11 games in a row.
Starting Pitchers
Ryne Stanek goes back to the hill for Tampa Bay as the Opener, a role in which he has excelled for Kevin Cash. During his five starts, he has held opponents to a meager .194 wOBA against him, giving the Rays exactly what they need from their new experimental starters.
His lastest outing came just two days ago on the 16th when he started against the Yankees, allowing a hit and striking out a batter before giving way to Ryan Yarbrough with one out in the second inning.
Gerrit Cole Scouting Report
Cole has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball this year during his debut season with the Houston Astros, who acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the start of spring training.
He is averaging nearly seven innings pitched each out, while excelling against both lefties and righties, although, he is particularly more dominant against lefties.
His last start, was his worst of the year as he allowed a season high four runs on six hits — two home runs — while he walked two and struck out six over six innings of work against the Oakland Athletics.