The Tampa Bay Rays are looking to get their sixth straight victory Tuesday with Matt Moore on the mound when they host the visiting Boston Red Sox at 7:05 pm ET.
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Via ESPN:
Boston's sweep from April 13-15 saw the Red Sox improve to 8-4 while the Rays fell to 4-8. Tampa Bay (19-18) is 15-10 since with Sunday's 4-2 win over the Padres putting them over .500 for the first time since April 6.
A big part of the Rays' early struggles involved a fragile bullpen, which blew six of its first 10 save opportunities and had an AL-worst 5.19 ERA through last Tuesday. But the relievers have posted a 1.15 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 15 2/3 innings during the current winning streak, including three shutout innings against San Diego on Sunday.
Their 2.88 ERA last year led the AL.
"You can never lose that confidence in your bullpen," utilityman Sean Rodriguez said. "They've earned that respect from us."
The offensive production has also been strong of late, with the Rays averaging 6.4 runs in their last 14 games. They've done a good job behind Tuesday's starter Matt Moore (6-0, 2.14 ERA), providing him with 7.07 runs of support per nine innings -- among the majors' best marks.
Moore hasn't needed nearly that much, though his command continues to elude him. He's walking 4.93 batters per nine innings and issued four walks while allowing two runs and six hits over five innings in a 10-4 win over Toronto on Wednesday.
"I was fighting a lot of different things tonight, mostly my control," said Moore, who was 0-2 with a 6.57 ERA in two starts against Boston last season, allowing four homers.
