-$51,125
11 Lefties on the mound tonight
Hamels-Rangers
Sabathia-Yankees
Urias-Dodgers
Quintana-White Sox
Conley-Miami
Liriano-Pirates
Rodriguez-Red Sox
Duffy-Royals
Happ-Blue Jays
Ray-D'Backs
Morgan-Phillies
Hamels
The Rangers (46-26) continue to lead the American League West by 9 1/2 games over Seattle despite Tuesday's setback. Texas, owners of the second-best record in the majors to the Chicago Cubs, is also 25-11 at home and 5-2 this season against the National League.
The Rangers are playing their last in a stretch of 20 consecutive games. Manager Jeff Banister has already said that he doesn't plan to skip the fifth starter Friday, electing instead to give his rotation an extra day of rest.
The skipper wants Ian Desmond to have Wednesday off and play Ryan Rua in center. Banister could also use an easy night for his bullpen.
Relievers have racked up 17 innings in the last four games. Sending ace Cole Hamels (7-1, 2.88 ERA) to the hill is the possible first step to getting some much-needed rest.
"Having Cole going (Wednesday) and an off day afterwards," Banister said. "Look for a solid start from Cole. It's not how you want to draw it up at all. Those guys have been really throwing the ball very well and getting the outs."
Hamels, 32, has gone 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA over four starts this month, and has completed at least seven innings in each outing.
The Reds were without Joey Votto due to illness Tuesday, but he is expected back in the lineup for the series finale. Reds manager Bryan Price will celebrate his 54th birthday Wednesday.
Happ vs Ray
The series finale Wednesday will be a duel of left-handed starters. Robbie Ray tries to extend Arizona's winning streak to six games while J.A. Happ tries to stop Toronto's skid at three games.
The Diamondbacks won Tuesday with more runs (four) than hits (three). Luckily for them, two of the three hits left the park.
"It's amazing," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. "You don't really remember many of those but we'll take it. I didn't realize it till I looked up in the seventh and it was only three hits. I had to check my card."
Now Ray will be going for his third successive winning start and Hale said tthis is an indication of the rotation coming around.
"That's what we built this team around," Hale said. "That's what we hung our hat on was that our starters every night, whether it's (Zack) Greinke at one or Robbie (Ray) in the five-hole, are going to give us six, seven innings every time and we're starting to get it going."
The Diamondbacks were able to close out the game Tuesday without closer Brad Ziegler, who has converted a club-record 43 consecutive save attempts, including 15 this season. Jake Barrett got the inning-ending double play in the seventh, Tyler Clippard handled the eighth and Daniel Hudson the ninth for his first save of the season.
"(Ziegler) was down tonight, it was three in a row so we felt good with the eighth being Clip and the ninth being Hudson and he did a great job for us," Hale said. "And, of course, the biggest pitch of the game was Barrett getting the ground ball to turn two."
That means he should be ready for Wednesday.
Happ also is trying to win his third straight start for the Blue Jays. While Ray has not faced Toronto before, Happ has had some success in his career against Arizona, going 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA in five games (four starts).
The Blue Jays grounded into a pair of double plays Tuesday to bring their season total to 70 -- most in the majors.
"It's always frustrating," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "They used our game. We usually hit some home runs. We had some chances. We had some guys on base, we couldn't cash anything in. That was our nemesis early in the year, but we've been on a pretty good roll."
Quintana vs Rodriguez
The Red Sox meanwhile, could use its own hot streak after losing six of its last nine games.
Despite boasting the majors' most lethal offense, the Red Sox (39-31) have been held to two or fewer runs in four straight games.
"It's definitely frustrating," Boston right fielder Mookie Betts said. "We're not scoring five or six like we usually do, but honestly I feel like we've been hitting the ball well."
Wednesday night's pitching matchup features White Sox left-handed Jose Quintana (1-2, 6.97 ERA) and Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 6.97 ERA).
Quintana has pitched well against the Red Sox throughout his career, but he will need more support from his offense to keep that trend going.
Although he is 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA in six starts against Boston, the White Sox have scored one run or fewer -- and just five total -- in the veteran left-hander's last seven starts.
Quintana earned his 54th no-decision since 2012 in his last start Friday at Cleveland, giving up just two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six in a 3-2 defeat.
He's faced the Red Sox once already this season, holding them to a run on four hits with five strikeouts in Chicago's 4-1 win on May 3 at U.S. Cellular Field.
Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. are the only Boston batters with at least three hits off of Quintana.
David Ortiz is batting just .133 (2-for-15) with five strikeouts against him while Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez are both 2-for-12 with three punch outs against Quintana.
Ramirez, however, has a solo homer off Quintana -- the only Red Sox batter to take him deep.
Rodriguez hasn't been able to regain the form he started his big league career with last year in four starts since making his season debut.
The 23-year-old southpaw has allowed four or more earned runs in each his last three starts, lasting fewer than 5 2/3 innings in each outing.
He tossed a season-high six innings in his return from a 51-game disabled-list stint with a right patella subluxation on May 31 at Baltimore, giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts in a 6-2 win.
Rodriguez also faced the O's in his last start, surrendering five runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while fanning five in a 5-1 loss this past Thursday.
He hasn't thrown more than 100 pitches in a start in 2016, topping out at 99.
Rodriguez has never faced the White Sox, but Dioner Navarro has two plate appearances against him, going 0-for-1 with a walk.
Sabathia
Sabathia takes a 2.20 ERA into Wednesday, the lowest it has been through at least 10 starts in any season for him. Since May 4, he has a 0.82 ERA in his last seven starts and is the first Yankee to allow four earned runs or less in a span of seven outings since Phil Niekro did it in 1984 as a 45-year-old.
The left-hander last pitched Thursday in Minnesota. Although he had a 15-inning scoreless streak stopped, Sabathia allowed one run and six hits in six innings in a game when his stuff was not as sharp since the Twins stranded nine in five innings.
Colorado's Jon Gray has a 4.55 ERA but has won four of his last seven starts. Grey held a 5.56 ERA at the end of May but this month, he is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts.
Liriano
Liriano (4-7, 5.03 ERA) has lost his past four starts, winless since May 24.
Just as the Pirates are hoping for better from Liriano, he could be hoping for more from his teammates, who have not scored while he was in the game during his past two appearances.
Liriano is scheduled to face Jeff Samardzija (8-4, 3.14 ERA), who isn't the match of the first two starters in the series, Madison Bumgerner and Johnny Cueto, but who is coming off of his eighth career complete game, allowing one run on four hits Friday in San Francisco's 5-1 victory over Tampa.
The Giants' hitters looked vulnerable Monday, but that didn't last. They knocked out 22 hits, including two homers, Tuesday.
