Orioles and Rays lineups, Burdi claimed off waivers (updated)

Is this going to be the night?

The Orioles' losing streak has reached 13 games, one short of their season high that closed out May. Rookie Spenser Watkins will try to be the stopper while making his third appearance against the Rays.

Watkins held them to one run in six innings and struck out seven batters on July 19 at Tropicana Field and allowed four earned runs (five total) and eight hits in six innings on Aug. 7 in Baltimore.

Yandy Díaz and Nelson Cruz homered off Watkins in the rematch. Cruz hit two last night and has three doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs and seven walks in nine games against the Orioles this season.

Trey Mancini remains on the bench with a sore left calf. Manager Brandon Hyde is breaking out another new lineup with Jorge Mateo in left field and batting sixth.

Austin Hays is in right field and batting cleanup. Pedro Severino is the designated hitter. Ramón Urías is playing second base and hitting second.

The lineup is based more on who isn't available than an attempt to shake it up.

"(Anthony) Santander's ankle is pretty sore after the game last night and I wanted to give him a day off today regardless if Trey was a go or not," manager Brandon Hyde said. "We're going to give Trey an extra day. He might be available off the bench, we'll see. But the upper calf is still pretty sore. And DJ Stewart's got some knee soreness, so I wanted to give him a day off today, too. This turf is tough. So more of a necessity."

The Orioles have a three-man bench and no one sitting on it tonight is healthy.

Mancini probably would have been in the lineup "if we're in a pennant race," Hyde said. "But with our situation, I want him to play healthy and I don't want to risk anything where he might miss a week because I pushed him out there with our record and the way we are right now, so I think the right thing to do right now was to not have him start. Hopefully, he's better tomorrow. Possibly have him come off the bench in a big spot."

Mateo is making his fifth major league start in left field.

"We did some stuff with him yesterday because of this reason," Hyde said. "He is comfortable. He played a lot of outfield in San Diego, was a defensive replacement in the outfield a lot of times for the Padres. He told me he feels comfortable in all three spots. He's such a great athlete. My concern was the roof here in the dome, he's never played here before, so we wanted to make sure that he saw the balls up in the air yesterday pregame and he'll do the same today."

The Orioles are 38-80 for a .322 winning percentage. The Diamondbacks are 39-81 for a .325 percentage.

The Orioles have been outscored 123-36 during their losing streak. They're the fifth team since 1901 to have two losing streaks of 13 games or more in the same season, joining the Diamondbacks (2021), Mets (1962), Boston Rustlers (1935, 1911) and Phillies (1919).

"All of these guys have something to play for and they've been reminded of that and we've talked about it," Hyde said. "For a variety of reasons - financial, roster, just be an invite next year and stick on the 40-man throughout the winter, there's a lot of reasons - they have a lot to play for over these last 40 games. I think our players are very aware of that. I don't sense any quit, I don't think you're going to see any quit here the last month-plus, just because there are so many guys in there ... everybody in there has something to play for toward the end of the year.

"I think our staff has been really consistent. I think our players will let you know our staff is extremely positive. We're extremely honest also. We do hold guys accountable, but our job hasn't changed in that we come to the ballpark every day with the mindset of getting our players better, to improve, try to win the game that night. We're not going to change our mindset as coaches.

"We like our players a lot and we want sure that they're in position to have success and try to help them out. Like I said before, these guys have a lot to play for for all different sorts of reasons and it's our job to make sure they're as prepared as possible, and we're never going to change that."

Right-hander Louis Head is the opener tonight for Tampa Bay, with Ryan Yarbrough slated to work in bulk relief. The rookie has made 18 relief appearances and allowed five earned runs (six total) and 13 hits in 24 1/3 innings.

Head already pitched in the series, going 1 1/3 innings Monday night and allowing one hit with a walk and two strikeouts. He tossed a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Aug. 6 and two scoreless on May 20.

Yarbrough is 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA and 1.275 WHIP in 12 career games against the Orioles. He's allowed 16 earned runs (19 total) and 28 hits in 22 2/3 innings this season in four starts.

The Rays activated Yarbrough from the COVID-19 list this afternoon and designated Chris Ellis for assignment after he tossed four scoreless innings with one hit and seven strikeouts to earn his first major league win.

Randy Arozarena had four hits last night and is 21-for-42 with four doubles, seven home runs and 16 RBIs in nine games against the Orioles this season.

The Rays have opened up a five-game lead over the Yankees and Red Sox in the American League East. They're 13-1 versus the Orioles this summer and 22-6 in St. Petersburg, Fla., since the beginning of the 2018 season. They've outscored the Orioles 113-51 this year.

Tampa Bay is 26 games above .500 to match its season high.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Ramón Urías 2B
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Austin Hays RF
Pedro Severino DH
Jorge Mateo LF
Maikel Franco 3B
Austin Wynns C
Richie Martin SS

Spenser Watkins RHP

For the Rays
Brandon Lowe 2B
Wander Franco SS
Nelson Cruz DH
Austin Meadows LF
Randy Arozarena RF
Ji-Man Choi 1B
Joey Wendle 3B
Francisco Mejía C
Kevin Kiermaier CF

Louis Head RHP

Reliever Hunter Harvey begins his injury rehab assignment today with Triple-A Norfolk. The Tides are in Charlotte, where their game last night was postponed due to the threat of storms.

The Orioles claimed right-handed reliever Zack Burdi off waivers today from the White Sox and optioned him to Norfolk. They made room on the 40-man roster by designating left-hander Ryan Hartman for assignment.

Burdi, 26, was a first-round pick in 2016 out of the University of Louisville. He has 174 strikeouts in 125 minor league innings but has registered an 8.27 ERA and 1.898 WHIP in 14 major league relief appearances over the two seasons. He tossed nine innings for the White Sox this summer in six games and allowed six earned runs (seven total) and 13 hits with four walks six strikeouts, two hit batters and three home runs.

The White Sox designated Burdi for assignment on Monday to create a roster spot for former Orioles pitcher Mike Wright.

Burdi underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and also has been sidelined by a torn patellar tendon in his knee. His brother, Nick, was a second-round pick by the Twins in 2014 out of Louisville and spent the past three years with the Pirates before he underwent his second Tommy John procedure in October 2020 and was designated for assignment.

Hartman was claimed off waivers from the Astros on July 30 after making his only major league appearance against the Orioles. He allowed four runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings with Norfolk.