The Tampa Bay Rays will have a tall task on their hands when they face New York Yankees ace Max Fried on Friday, needing to change their luck against lefties to notch a win.
Max Fried already tormented the Tampa Bay Rays’ lineup last month, and the New York Yankees’ ace could very well do the same again in the Bronx on Friday.
Tampa Bay ranks No. 28 in MLB with a .197 batting average against lefties, on top of ranking No. 27 with a .574 OPS. That stands in sharp opposition to their production against righties, with their .267 batting average and .740 OPS ranking No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.
The Rays are .500 in their eight games against left-handed starters, but they have dropped four of their last five versus southpaws. Fried and Kansas City Royals rookie Noah Cameron, both lefties, held Tampa Bay without a hit through 5.0 innings.
José Caballero leads the Rays with four extra-base hits and a .929 OPS against left-handers, and he is starting at shortstop Friday.
Junior Caminero and Christopher Morel are starting Friday as well, but not because of their splits. The former has an .858 OPS against lefties and a .479 OPS against righties, while the latter has an .834 OPS versus righties and a .535 OPS against lefties.
Caminero, Morel and the Rays will try to change their fortunes in Friday’s series opener, with first pitch against the Yankees scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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