Orioles host the Rays to begin 3-game series

Tampa Bay Rays (46-35, second in the AL East) vs. Baltimore Orioles (34-46, fifth in the AL East)

Baltimore; Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Ryan Pepiot (5-6, 3.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 91 strikeouts); Orioles: Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.55 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 50 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Baltimore Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday to open a three-game series.

Baltimore is 17-21 at home and 34-46 overall. The Orioles are 16-9 in games when they did not allow a home run.

Tampa Bay has a 19-12 record on the road and a 46-35 record overall. Rays hitters are batting a collective .257, the highest team batting average in the AL.

Friday's game is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan O'Hearn has nine doubles and 11 home runs while hitting .301 for the Orioles. Gary Sanchez is 9 for 29 with three home runs over the past 10 games.

Brandon Lowe has 10 doubles and 16 home runs for the Rays. Junior Caminero is 14 for 39 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 4-6, .200 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

Rays: 7-3, .318 batting average, 3.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs

INJURIES: Orioles: Maverick Handley: 7-Day IL (head), Ryan Mountcastle: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Adley Rutschman: 10-Day IL (oblique), Cade Povich: 15-Day IL (hip), Jorge Mateo: 10-Day IL (elbow), Cody Poteet: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler O'Neill: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Grayson Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Albert Suarez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler Wells: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Bradish: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Rays: Manuel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.