The Tampa Bay Rays were six outs from defeat last night when the offense erupted with four home runs over the final two innings, as they opened their three game set with the Toronto Blue Jays with a 7-4 victory.

The victory put the Rays back at .500 as the team continues to stay just above water. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have now lost three in a row, falling to 6-17 on the year.

Today, the Rays will send Matt Andriese to the mound against Francisco Liriano with the first pitch slated for 1:07pm.

Starting Pitchers

Homeruns continued to plague Matt Andriese this season he has allowed just 10 runs this season, but has already given up five homers. His last time out was on the 23rd against the Astros where he allowed three runs on six hits, including two homers, while he walked two and struck out four over five innings pitched.

Francisco Liriano meanwhile has had a decent start to the season. After a rough season debut against the Rays, Liriano has rebounded with three solid starts, giving up four runs over his last 17 innings pitched. His last appearance was on the 24th against the Angels where he allowed two runs on five hits, while he walked four and struck out two before leaving with an out in the sixth inning.

Liriano’s Arsenal

Liriano will attack opposing hitters with four pitches (fastball, sinker, change-up, and a slider), and also rarely a fifth pitch (curveball). His fastball and sinker range in the low 90’s, while the change and slider fall in the mid 80’s

He has relied on his sinker the most this year, while mixing it in with his slider and change-up.

Liriano’s Splits

Thus far in 2017, Liriano has carved up opposing left-handed hitters while he has been blasted by righties. However, his numbers are skewed from his horrendous first start of the season. Since that time he has been pretty successful regardless of the batter.

Starting Lineups