Rays' Morton tries to extend personal streak against Angels

Charlie Morton will try to win his fifth straight start and run his overall win streak to 12 games when the Tampa Bay Rays play the Los Angeles Angels in the third game of their four-game series on Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Morton (8-0, 2.10 ERA) hasn't lost in 21 starts dating to a 3-2 defeat against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 11, when he was still with the Houston Astros. It's the longest unbeaten streak in the majors.

The 35-year-old right-hander signed a two-year, $30 million deal with the Rays in the offseason, and he's been an integral part of Tampa Bay's surprising start this season.

Tampa Bay beat the Angels 9-4 on Friday night to move back into first place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees.

Morton has a 1.00 ERA in his past four starts and opponents are batting .151 off him in that span.

His recent dominance has come in handy for a pitching staff that a month ago lost right-hander Tyler Glasnow to a forearm strain after he got off to a 6-1 start with a 1.86 ERA. He will be on the 60-day injured list until at least July 10.

"He's been huge, especially with Tyler going down," Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters after Morton's last outing. "He can only pitch once every fifth day, but what he's provided has been really, really impressive."

Morton will be opposed by 21-year-old left-hander Jose Suarez, who is set to make his third major league start and first against a team other than the Mariners.

Suarez went 4 2/3 innings against the visiting Mariners on Sunday and allowed two runs and four hits. He departed with Los Angeles trailing 2-1, but that game got away from the Angels' bullpen in the 9-3 loss.

Suarez (1-1, 4.35 ERA) benefited from plenty of run support in his major league debut in Seattle on June 2. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs and five hits in the 13-3 win.

"He's still pretty young. He's 21 years old," Angels manager Brad Ausmus told reporters after Suarez's most recent outing. "I don't want to put a ceiling on him. I'll take this every time out, but I think he can be better."

Suarez, who missed most of spring training and the first month of the season with shoulder soreness, will try to follow the lead of fellow left-hander Andrew Heaney, who threw five shutout innings on Friday night before Tampa Bay scored five runs in the sixth and four in the seventh off the bullpen.

Joey Wendle was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Friday and got the first hit of the game for the Rays to load the bases with two outs in the fourth before Heaney escaped that jam. Wendle played second base on Friday, but can also play shortstop.

"The versatility he brings, just the overall person, he's such a big part of this team," Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Friday's game. "He can really impact us both ways defensively and offensively."

--Field Level Media