Washington Nationals (39-36, third in the NL East) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (41-30, second in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Cade Cavalli (4-4, 3.98 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 81 strikeouts); Rays: Griffin Jax (1-5, 3.68 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 41 strikeouts)
LINE: Rays -132, Nationals +108; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays begin a three-game series at home against the Washington Nationals on Friday.
Tampa Bay is 41-30 overall and 24-9 in home games. The Rays have a 29-10 record in games when they record eight or more hits.
Washington has gone 23-14 on the road and 39-36 overall. The Nationals rank third in the NL with 96 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.
Friday’s game is the first meeting between these teams this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Junior Caminero leads the Rays with 15 home runs while slugging .485. Jonathan Aranda is 11 for 40 with a double and four RBIs over the past 10 games.
James Wood has 17 doubles and 20 home runs for the Nationals. Nasim Nunez is 13 for 33 with a double, two triples and seven RBIs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 4-6, .249 batting average, 3.86 ERA, outscored by five runs
Nationals: 6-4, .257 batting average, 5.01 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
INJURIES: Rays: Jon Heasley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jesse Scholtens: 15-Day IL (wrist), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonny Deluca: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Steven Wilson: 60-Day IL (back), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jake Fraley: 10-Day IL (groin), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip), Edwin Uceta: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Nationals: Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Irvin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (forearm), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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