First pitch: Monday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: New York -110, Tampa Bay +100, Total: 8

The surging Rays travel to the Bronx to start a three-game set against the slumping Yankees on Monday night.

Tampa Bay has been having one of the most disappointing seasons of any team in baseball, currently sitting 10 games back in the AL East standings while holding the worst record in the American League. The Rays have played much better lately though, rattling off seven wins in their past 11 attempts; including 4-of-5 coming into this contest. Their recent four-game set against the Orioles went well, and their big 12-7 victory on Sunday game them a series win. The offense broke out with 11 extra-base hits including five that left the park. OF Matt Joyce (.274 BA) was huge for Tampa Bay in the series as he went 7-for-12 with two doubles, two homers, 6 RBI and five runs over his three games played. New York has had some trouble lately, losing six of its past eight games, all coming against fellow AL East opponents. The Yankees lost the rubber match against the Red Sox on Sunday night by a score of 8-5, as they could not keep up with the 12 hits given up by their staff. SS Derek Jeter (.275 BA) recently celebrated his 40th birthday and is riding a five-game hitting streak where he has gone 7-for-18 with a home run and three RBI. This game will feature two youngsters on the mound, as 25-year-old RHP Chris Archer (4-5, 3.29 ERA) of the Rays goes up against 27-year-old RHP David Phelps (3-4, 4.35 ERA) for the Yankees. On the road, Tampa Bay has been horrible, going just 16-24 in away games this year, while New York is 18-20 in Yankee Stadium. The Rays have done well in this matchup over the past three seasons, holding a 26-18 edge against their division rivals while going 12-10 in the Bronx. Since becoming manager of the Yankees, Joe Girardi’s club has gone just 57-60 (.487) on Mondays while being 66-37 (.641) after having lost five or six of their past seven games. As far as injuries are concerned, the Rays continue to be without outfielders Wil Myers (wrist) and David DeJesus (hand) while SS Yunel Escobar (shoulder) is day-to-day. The Yankees come into this contest with no injuries to their offense.

Chris Archer earned himself a nice contract extension earlier this year and has piggy-backed on his success from last year when he put up a solid 3.22 ERA over 23 starts. He has improved his strikeout rate this year, bringing it up to 8.3 K/9, but has also lost some control while walking 3.5 batters per nine innings; up from 2.7 BB/9 last year. Another impressive stat from this year’s campaign has been his miniscule 0.29 HR/9 that he has allowed so far over 93 innings on the mound. Archer has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his past eight outings, but did not do too well in his last start, going seven innings while giving up five runs (4 ER) on seven hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He’s been amazing against the Yankees over his short career, going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA and 0.63 WHIP, and has an 18:3 K-to-BB ratio in that time (28.2 IP). OF Jacoby Ellsbury has been great against the youngster, going 7-for-10 with a double and 2 RBI. On the other hand, OF Ichiro Suzuki is only 1-for-10 with two strikeouts in the matchup. The Rays’ bullpen is not what it used to be, as the group is 13-14 with a 3.97 ERA, and is 15-for-22 (68%) in save chances. Grant Balfour has lost his closer role and right now Tampa Bay is putting out pitchers based on situation while Joel Peralta (3.97 ERA, 1 save), Jake McGee (1.27 ERA, 3 saves) and Juan Oviedo (2.57 ERA, 1 save) are all getting looks in the ninth.

David Phelps began the year in a battle for the fifth rotation spot, but was relegated to the bullpen after being beat out by Michael Pineda. With injuries to the staff, Phelps has now started 10 games for the Yankees, putting up a 4.45 ERA and 1.41 WHIP as a starter (58.2 IP). His strikeout rate dropped dramatically when he moved back into the rotation, going from 12.3 K/9 in 11.2 relief inning to 7.4 K/9 as starter. In his last start, Phelps did not do well, getting blasted for six runs on eight hits and one walk over five innings, but he did record seven strikeouts as he earned a no-decision against the Blue Jays. He’s now faced the Rays four times as a starter, going 2-0 (3-1 team record) with a 2.82 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, as he has earned his two victories in each of his past two outings against them. Ben Zobrist has had no issues against Phelps, as he is 5-for-12 with two doubles and 2 RBI. Meanwhile, OF Desmond Jennings and 3B Evan Longoria have combined to go 0-for-13 with two strikeouts in their careers against him. The Yanks bullpen is 10-13 this season with a 3.96 ERA while converting 25-of-36 (69%) saves. David Robertson (3.08 ERA, 18 saves) has blown two saves this year while putting up an impressive 47 strikeouts in just 26.1 innings of work (16.1 K/9).