Interleague Preview from The Sports Network
Sunday, May 20th
(All times eastern)
Atlanta Braves (25-16) at Tampa Bay Rays (25-16), 1:40 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Atlanta - Tim Hudson (2-1, 3.96)
Tampa Bay - David Price (6-2, 3.10)
(Sports Network) - With both teams already capturing a win in this three-game
set, each will have a chance at a series win when the Atlanta Braves and
Tampa Bay Rays square off at Tropicana Field.
After losing back-to-back games, including Friday's series opener in which
their opponents scored five runs, the Tampa Bay Rays flipped the script on
Saturday and downed the Braves 5-2.
Making his first start in the majors since last August, Alex Cobb looked as if
he had been in the big leagues all season after pitching seven strong innings
in which he allowed a pair of runs on six hits, which matched his number of
strikeouts.
Cobb was called up on Friday after spending the beginning of the season with
Triple-A Durham.
The Braves got out to a 2-0 lead after a two-run first inning in which Juan
Francisco had an RBI single and Eric Hinske had an RBI sacrifice fly, but Cobb
settled in from that point on.
"Cobb did a terrific job ... He kept us off-balance and did a nice job to get
the game to their two guys in the bullpen," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez
said
Matt Joyce launched a grand slam for his only hit of the game an inning later
and Sean Rodriguez added his fourth home run of the season as well as the Rays
kept pace with the first-place Orioles in the AL East.
Randall Delgado managed to get through only four innings in taking the loss
for Atlanta, giving up four runs despite allowing only three hits. Delgado was
done in by his inability to consistently hit the strike zone as he threw only
43 of 84 pitches for strikes and walked five batters. Despite the loss the
Braves still remain at the top of the NL East standings with a 1 1/2-game lead
on Washington.
In the series finale the Rays will send out ace David Price to try to win a
series of three games or more since a four-game sweep of Seattle in the
beginning of the month.
Price didn't have his best stuff but had enough to win in his last start as he
pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits while striking out
six to earn his sixth win of the season as the Rays downed fellow AL East
member Toronto on Tuesday.
The right-hander has had a strong season at 6-2 with an ERA of 3.10. He has
allowed more than three runs in only one start this season and has gone at
least seven innings in four of his eight total starts this year, including in
each of the last three.
In his career Price is 5-4 with an ERA of 4.50 in interleague play, including
a win in his only career start against Atlanta in which he allowed two earned
runs over five innings of work.
Taking the mound for the Braves will be veteran Tim Hudson.
In his 14th season in the majors the 36-year-old has still proven to be an
effective pitcher and at 2-1 with an ERA of 3.96 this season has continued to
be a reliable pitcher for a talented Braves staff.
Hudson missed most of the first month of the season after having back surgery
in the offseason has been particularly effective in his last two starts.
During the pair of outings Hudson has pitched 14 innings, allowing three runs
on 14 hits while striking out four batters.
Most recently he tossed seven innings and allowed two runs on nine hits in a
6-2 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Hudson, who spent the first six seasons of his career in the AL pitching for
Oakland, has a stellar 7-1 record as well as a 2.71 ERA in 11 career starts
against Tampa Bay that exceeds his 14-16 record and 4.08 ERA overall in
interleague starts.
These teams squared off in an interleague series in Atlanta in 2010 when the
Braves took two of three. In the last series in Tampa Bay the Braves yet again
took two of three in 2006.
05/20 10:37:31 ET

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