The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day thanks to excellent performances from starter Chris Tillman and outfielder Travis Snider. The Rays hope to rebound on Tuesday night and avoid starting 0-2.
Baltimore will send starter Wei-Yin Chen to the mound to face Tampa Bay's Nathan Karns at 7:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. The O's won yesterday's contest 6-2 after Tillman's outing (6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER) and Snider's play on both sides of the ball, including a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with two RBIs. It didn't appear as if the team missed veteran outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, who left the team via free agency this offseason.
But the new-look Rays roster is likely still adjusting.
Tampa Bay hired manager Kevin Cash to succeed Joe Maddon in the offseason and also welcomed a number of new players including outfielder Steven Souza Jr., shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, catchers John Jaso and Rene Rivera and relievers Ernesto Frieri and Kevin Jepsen, among others. On top of that, the team's starting rotation is decimated with injuries to Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, Alex Colome and Matt Moore. Chris Archer replaced Cobb as the Opening Day starter and gave up four runs (three earned) in 5 2/3 innings.
It wasn't a great first day of the regular season for Tampa Bay, but they'll have tonight to redeem themselves.
However, they'll have to face Chen, who is 3-4 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.319 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 13 starts against the Rays since 2012. The 29-year-old also had his best campaign in 2014 and finished 16-6 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.228 WHIP and 136 strikeouts in 31 starts (185 2/3 innings).
On the other hand, Karns will be taking the place of one of the many injured Rays starters and appear in just his sixth career game. The right-hander is just 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA, 1.417 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in five starts (24 innings) since 2013, but enjoyed a solid spring training. In six games (five starts) the 27-year-old finished 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
The O's and Rays both scattered eight hits in yesterday's matchup, but it was Baltimore who was able to make the most out of their opportunities. Tampa Bay hopes to avoid back-to-back losses to the 2014 AL East champs and get on track during their home-opening series.
Check out the live stream for tonight's game here as well as the live radio broadcast here (if you're a Rays fan) or here (if you're an Orioles fan).