Rays hope to get on track against White Sox
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - And now, the tough part arrives for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Now that they've been officially eliminated from the playoffs, the Rays will finish off the season with 10 non-consequential games -- beginning with game two of a three-game weekend set with the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night at Tropicana Field.
The Rays have lost three straight games overall, including the series opener on Friday when a 3-0 lead evaporated as the White Sox scored four times in the fifth inning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tampa Bay had made the playoffs four times in the previous six years.
"It's definitely no fun when you come to the park and you know you're not going to be playing in October," Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson said.
Tampa Bay started poorly and went through a 1-14 stretch early in the season, but managed to get back to .500 by mid-August. Things have gone bad since, however, with the Rays winning 13 times in 32 games to fall back out of the playoff discussion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chris Archer starts for Tampa Bay on Saturday after allowing eight runs and 12 hits in two meetings with the White Sox. He allowed nine hits and four runs in a six-inning stint against Chicago in late April.
He's 1-0 in his last two starts while allowing four runs in 13 1/3 innings.
Hector Noesi allowed five runs in 6 2/3 innings of Chicago's 6-4 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prior to that outing, he'd had a three-start stretch in which he was 1-0 with a 3.54 ERA.
Noesi's 27 homers surrendered are the most in the AL.
"I'm feeling fine," he said. "Just off a little bit with my mechanics."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He's not started against the Rays since 2012. In a relief outing on April 26, he tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.
On Friday, Avisail Garcia's two-run double in the fifth inning led the White Sox to a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay.
Alexei Ramirez finished with three hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Jose Abreu brought in the other run for the White Sox, who had veteran first baseman Paul Konerko return to the lineup after a 14-game absence due to a broken hand.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jose Quintana (9-10) combated early adversity to win his third straight decision, allowing just three runs -- one earned -- on nine hits with no walks and six strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.
Logan Forsythe drove in all three runs for Tampa Bay.
Hellickson (1-4) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 frames.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White Sox won three of four over a visiting Rays club from April 25-28.