John Danks and the Tampa Bay Rays have something in common to start this season: neither has a win. Danks, whose last start against Cleveland ended in a "L," is looking to get his first win of the season as a starter this evening at the Cell. The Rays are just looking for their first win of the season, period. Only two teams remain in the major leagues without a single win, the Rays and the Boston Red Sox.
Meanwhile, Kansas City is tied for first place in the AL Central and Baltimore is alone in first in the AL East. The beginning of the baseball season is always so quirky and fun, isn't it?
Danks has a decent career record against Tampa Bay, going 5-2 in seven starts with a 3.83 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He's managed to hold many of the Rays threats to low averages, including B.J. Upton, who is 2-for-14 against Danks, and Ben Zobrist, who is 0-for-7.
Tampa Bay will be sending James Shields to the mound today. Shields is 2-2 against the Sox across seven starts, with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Both Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios hit Shields reasonably well. Ramirez is 5-for-12 with a home run, while Rios is 8-for-30 with a home run and five RBIs.
This evening's weather is forecast to be mostly cloudy, with temperatures in the upper 40s. First pitch is at 7:10 P.M. CDT, and the game will be televised on WCIU and FS-F HD.