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The Rays season went from bleak, to hopeful, to just downright depressing, and is now reaching a new high as the Rays just swept the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto in a most dominating fashion as they mashed eight home runs over the three game set and scored a total of 31 runs.
The Rays now have 58 home runs this season, and 31 in the month of May, while they've only played 15 games this month and 38 overall.
With the sweep, the Rays are now back at .500 -- four and a half games back in the AL East -- while the Tigers sit at 19-21 -- five and half games back in the AL Central. Detroit has won their last four in a row as they just capped off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
Today's Starting Pitchers:
| 2016 | W | L | ERA | FIP | K% | BB% | AVG | HR | GS | IP | fWAR |
| Matt Andriese | 2 | 0 | 0.56 | 2.85 | 14.8% | 5.6% | .120 | 0 | 2 | 16.0 | 0.5 |
| Anibal Sanchez | 3 | 4 | 5.91 | 5.54 | 20.2% | 12.4% | .263 | 8 | 8 | 42.2 | 0.1 |
Since being called up just under two weeks ago for the Rays, Matt Andriese has been excellent for the Rays one upping his seven inning performance his season debut with the Rays first complete game shutout of the year his last time out against the Athletics. During the shutout, Andriese allowed just two hits, while he didn't walk a batter and struck out five.
Anibal Sanchez Scouting Report:
After two decent starts to begin the year, Sanchez has been abysmal for the Tigers, mostly due to an alarming walk rate that is the highest for Sanchez since 2007. Sanchez has calmed down somewhat in May, although he hasn't picked up a victory yet this month. During his last outing on the 14th against Baltimore, Sanchez delivered six innings, allowing four runs on six hits -- two homers -- while he walked two and struck out four, picking up his 4th loss of the year.
His Arsenal:
| PITCH | AVG. VELO. | FREQUENCY | vs LHB | vs RHB |
| Fastball | 91.9 MPH |
37.1% vs LHB *** 29.6% vs RHB |
Paints the outside corner | Anywhere up in the zone |
| Sinker | 91.6 MPH |
13.5% vs LHB *** 23.2% vs RHB |
Sporadic | Low and inside, usually off the plate |
| Cutter | 89.1 MPH |
7.0% vs LHB *** 8.9% vs RHB |
Anywhere inside, usually off the plate | Paints the outside corner |
| Slider | 84.2 MPH |
13.5% vs LHB *** 22.2% vs RHB |
Below the zone and inside off the plate | Low and away from the zone |
| Change-up | 83.6 MPH |
18.9% vs LHB *** 9.9% vs RHB |
Low and away from the zone | Below the zone |
| Curveball | 77.9 MPH |
9.7% vs LHB *** 5.8% vs RHB |
Low and away | Low and away |
His Splits:
| 2016 | TBF | wOBA | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | K% | BB% |
| vs LHB | 92 | .371 | .263 | .391 | .447 | 3 | 22.8% | 15.2% |
| vs RHB | 101 | .362 | .264 | .343 | .494 | 5 | 17.8% | 9.9% |
| HOME | 67 | .393 | .286 | .403 | .500 | 3 | 22.4% | 16.4% |
| AWAY | 126 | .351 | .252 | .347 | .459 | 5 | 19.1% | 10.3% |
Today's Starting Lineups:
| TAMPA BAY RAYS | DETROIT TIGERS |
| Steven Souza - RF | Ian Kinsler - 2B |
| Brad Miller - SS | JD Martinez - RF |
| Evan Longoria - 3B | Miguel Cabrera - 1B |
| Steve Pearce - 2B | Victor Martinez - DH |
| Corey Dickerson - DH | Nick Castellanos - 3B |
| Desmond Jennings - LF | Justin Upton - LF |
| Logan Morrison - 1B | Cameron Maybin - CF |
| Kevin Kiermaier - CF | James McCann - C |
| Hank Conger - C | Jose Iglesias - SS |