Athletics (61-91, fourth in the AL West) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (92-59, first in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jeffrey Springs (4-13, 5.93 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 105 strikeouts); Rays: Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.81 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 160 strikeouts)
LINE: Rays -289, Athletics +229; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays host the Athletics looking to continue a five-game home winning streak.
Tampa Bay has a 52-25 record in home games and a 92-59 record overall. Rays hitters have a collective .407 slugging percentage to rank third in the AL.
The Athletics have a 61-91 record overall and a 32-45 record on the road. The Athletics rank fifth in the AL with 185 total home runs, averaging 1.2 per game.
The teams square off Thursday for the sixth time this season. The Rays are ahead 5-0 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Liam Hicks has 14 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs for the Rays. Jonathan Aranda is 12 for 37 with three doubles and four home runs over the last 10 games.
Shea Langeliers leads the Athletics with 23 home runs while slugging .492. Jeff McNeil is 11 for 41 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 8-2, .264 batting average, 2.63 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Athletics: 5-5, .202 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
INJURIES: Rays: Jon Heasley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ben Williamson: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Tyler Wells: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jacob Melton: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Edwin Uceta: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Walls: 10-Day IL (hip), Garrett Cleavinger: 15-Day IL (forearm), Manuel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (back), Shane McClanahan: 15-Day IL (forearm), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip)
Athletics: Gage Jump: 15-Day IL (left shoulder), J.T. Ginn: 15-Day IL (elbow), Luis Severino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 60-Day IL (testicle), Jacob Wilson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Kurtz: 60-Day IL (thumb), Tyler Soderstrom: 60-Day IL (hip), Brooks Kriske: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Sterner: 60-Day IL (knee), Mark Leiter Jr.: 60-Day IL (hip), Brent Rooker: 60-Day IL (knee), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (knee)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
