Rays plot to put more heat on Mariners in wild-card race

The Tampa Bay Rays, following a great start to their seven-game homestand, will look to make it two in a row over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

A strong start from Shane Baz and a 13-hit attack led Tampa Bay (68-69) to a 10-2 victory on Monday, pulling the Rays within 4 1/2 games of the Mariners (73-65) in the race for the last American League wild-card position. Two other teams are between Seattle and Tampa Bay in the standings.

“(Seattle’s) a team that you’ve got to find a way to add on because a couple of baserunners and they’ve got guys that can knock the ball out of the ballpark with one swing of the bat and change the game,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.

The Tuesday game will feature an elite pitching matchup of right-handers who sport ERAs below 3.00.

Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.64 ERA) has produced consistently good starts that generally range from five to six innings and limit the opposition to little offense.

During five starts in August that totaled 29 1/3 innings, Rasmussen allowed just 20 hits and six runs (five earned). In posting a 2-0 record, he struck out 26 and walked three, leading to a sparkling 1.53 ERA and 0.78 WHIP.

Rasmussen also owns an excellent career history against the Mariners, his hometown team. The 30-year-old hurler from Puyallup, Wash., is 2-0 with a 0.44 ERA in five appearances (four starts) vs. Seattle. He got a no-decision at Seattle on Aug. 8 after throwing six shutout innings.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson will turn to Bryan Woo, who pitched at least six innings in each of his first 25 starts this year before the streak ended against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. He wound up throwing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

“It’s not about the streak, it’s about wanting to stay in the game and keep us where we were,” Wilson said. “Bryan has had an incredible season, but we’ve got a few games left. It’s time to be about the team, and he understands that completely. … He’s onboard.”

Woo (12-7, 2.95 ERA) is coming off an August in which he went 4-1 in five starts with a 2.27 ERA. In 31 2/3 innings, he whiffed 39, walked six and authored a 0.88 WHIP.

Woo, 25, beat the Rays on Aug. 10 when he tossed six innings and permitted three runs. In two career starts vs. Tampa Bay, he is 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA.

The Rays subtracted an infielder on Monday when Ha-Seong Kim was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves. The 29-year-old shortstop is owed about $1.9 million for the rest of this season, then has a player option worth $16 million for next year.

Kim played only in 24 games with the Rays due to a slow recovery from right shoulder surgery performed last fall and recent back inflammation. He hit .214 with two homers, five RBIs and six stolen bases in his brief tenure with Tampa Bay.

Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said letting Kim go will create playing time for Carson Williams. The 22-year-old rookie is hitting .250 with one homer and six RBIs through eight major league games.

“Where we are in the standings right now, giving Carson the opportunity to learn a little bit more about him over this next month was important to us,” Neander said, according to MLB.com. “… If we were 10 games over .500, Ha-Seong Kim’s not on waivers.”

–Field Level Media