Rays meet the Mets with 1-0 series lead

New York Mets (16-16, third in the NL East) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (15-18, fourth in the AL East)

St. Petersburg, Florida; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Christian Scott (0-0); Rays: Zack Littell (1-2, 3.27 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 35 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Rays -117, Mets -103; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays take a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the New York Mets.

Tampa Bay is 9-9 in home games and 15-18 overall. The Rays have gone 7-16 in games when they have allowed at least one home run.

New York has a 7-6 record on the road and a 16-16 record overall. Mets hitters are batting a collective .238, which ranks eighth in the NL.

Saturday’s game is the second time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes has seven home runs, 11 walks and 17 RBI while hitting .283 for the Rays. Richard Palacios is 11-for-32 with a double, two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.

Brandon Nimmo has six doubles, a triple and three home runs for the Mets. Francisco Lindor is 10-for-37 with four doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 3-7, .239 batting average, 5.75 ERA, outscored by 23 runs

Mets: 4-6, .224 batting average, 3.82 ERA, outscored by three runs

INJURIES: Rays: Chris Devenski: 15-Day IL (knee), Josh Lowe: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Colin Poche: 15-Day IL (back), Peter Anderson Fairbanks: 15-Day IL (nerve), Taylor Walls: 60-Day IL (hip), Brandon Lowe: 10-Day IL (oblique), Jonathan Aranda: 10-Day IL (finger), Taj Bradley: 15-Day IL (pectoral), Shane Baz: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jeffrey Springs: 60-Day IL (elbow), Drew Rasmussen: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Mets: Drew Smith: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Francisco Alvarez: 15-Day IL (thumb), Brooks Raley: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kodai Senga: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tylor Megill: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Peterson: 60-Day IL (hip), Ronny Mauricio: 60-Day IL (knee)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.