Jac Caglianone had 5 hits, 4 of them homers, against the Cardinals this past weekend in a high-scoring series in which the Royals took 2 of 3 while scoring 30 runs. I hope the 32-46 Royals bring that offense to Tampa Bay to face off against the 43-31 Rays.
It will be a four-game series between the two teams, who have yet to meet on the field in 2026. The Rays sit in second place in the AL East, only 2 games behind the Yankees. They’ve gotten to this point through their typical “Who is this guy? Why is he a borderline All-Star?” rotating cast of characters. Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero, and Jonathan Aranda are known guys, but the rest? Well they’re actually not hitting all that well for the most part. Their offense is mostly those 3 guys. They’ve gotten to this point from generally solid pitching and some small-ball.
The Rays will start Drew Rasmussen tonight. Rasmussen will turn 31 next month and has generally been an effective pitcher for the Rays…when he’s on the mound. That’s been his problem – staying healthy. His maximum innings pitched in a single season is only 150, which he did last year. Nevertheless, he’s in the midst of an excellent season, with a solid strikeout rate, miniscule walk rate, and low homer rate. His pitching metrics are all generally around or below 3.00. He’s good.
The Royals counter with Michael Wacha. His last outing was a quality start against the Nationals, but he’s been knocked around a bit his past few starts. Hopefully he can get right tonight.
Bobby Witt Jr remains out of the lineup.
The game starts at 5:40pm US Central time. You can watch on Royals.TV or listen on 96.5 The Fan or The Royals Radio Network.
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