Evan Longoria played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008-17, and the veteran third baseman is one of the most recognizable faces of that franchise’s history
On Tuesday night, Longoria sent a reminder to the team with which he started his major-league career that he’s still an impact player at age 37.
Longoria had two hits, including a homer, in the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ 8-4 win over the Rays in Phoenix
With Longoria helping to lead the way, the Diamondbacks will look to win their third straight game on Wednesday in the middle contest of the three-game interleague series
“Overall, good team win,” Longoria said after Tuesday’s game.
Longoria now has the distinction of hitting a home run against all 30 MLB teams.
“Just means I’ve been around a long time to accomplish the feat,” Longoria said.
A couple of Zachs will be the starting pitchers for Wednesday’s game, as the Rays turn to Zach Eflin (9-3, 3.35 ERA) against fellow right-hander Zach Davies (1-4, 7.82)
Eflin gave up three earned runs with seven strikeouts in six innings in an 11-3 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.
“Felt like I grinded, and it was pretty gritty out there,” Eflin said of his outing. “Obviously, it was awesome to watch the guys get 17 hits, put a lot of runs up.”
Eflin has been a steady contributor in the Rays‘ rotation, and he has a chance to reach double-digit wins in just his 15th start
To pull off his 10th win, Eflin would have to top a team he has yet to defeat in his major-league career. He is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in four career games (three starts) versus the Diamondbacks
Finding success on the road has been an issue for Eflin.
While the Rays starter is 8-0 with a 2.17 ERA at home, he’s 1-3 with a 5.08 ERA in six away starts
On Wednesday, the Rays are not expected to start infielder Taylor Walls, who was scratched before the first pitch on Tuesday due to mid-back tightness
“We’ll kind of go day-to-day with him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He won’t play (Wednesday). We’ll have him available.
Davies, meanwhile, is in a rough stretch.
Since defeating the Washington Nationals on June 7, Davies hasn’t worked more than four innings in any of his past three starts — all losses. He has surrendered 18 earned runs on 21 hits in 10 2/3 innings during that stretch.
Davies was tagged for six runs on as many hits with four walks in his last outing, an 8-5 setback against the San Francisco Giants.
Davies has faced the Rays once in his career, and he turned in a sterling performance. He allowed just one hit in seven innings of a 3-0 win on Aug. 5, 2017, while pitching for Milwaukee Brewers
“He’s a big piece of this rotation,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I felt like Zach’s stuff was better (at San Francisco), than it was the previous two and it’s just about moving forward and taking steps in the right direction.
–Field Level Media
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
