Tampa Bay Rays @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Pirates meet the Rays with 1-0 series lead
Tampa Bay Rays (11-8, first in the AL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-8, second in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 17 strikeouts); Pirates: Paul Skenes (3-1, 4.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
LINE: Pirates -167, Rays +141; over/under is 7 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates take a 1-0 lead into the latest game of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pittsburgh has a 7-4 record at home and a 12-8 record overall. The Pirates have the third-best team ERA in MLB play at 3.16.
Tampa Bay has a 7-6 record in road games and an 11-8 record overall. The Rays are 4-1 in games when they hit at least two home runs.
The teams play Saturday for the second time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz has four doubles and six home runs for the Pirates. Brandon Lowe is 12 for 40 with two doubles and four home runs over the last 10 games.
Yandy Diaz has three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBI for the Rays. Junior Caminero is 9 for 38 with a double, three home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 6-4, .272 batting average, 2.83 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
Rays: 7-3, .254 batting average, 4.20 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
INJURIES: Pirates: Jared Triolo: 10-Day IL (knee), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Rays: Joe Boyle: 15-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Lux: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Garrett Cleavinger: 15-Day IL (calf), Michael Grove: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip), Steven Wilson: 60-Day IL (back), Edwin Uceta: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
PIT leads 1-0
Game Information
2026 American League East Standings
2026 National League Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 12 | 8 | .600 | - | W1 |
| Cincinnati | 12 | 8 | .600 | - | W1 |
| St. Louis | 11 | 8 | .579 | 0.5 | W3 |
| Milwaukee | 11 | 8 | .579 | 0.5 | W3 |
| Chicago | 10 | 9 | .526 | 1.5 | W3 |

