ST. PETERSBURG Jacoby Brissett Jersey , Fla. — Can the Tampa Bay Rays, the hottest team in baseball, finally get back to .500 for the season?

All that is stopping them Thursday are the American League West-leading and defending World Series champion Houston Astros, who come to Tropicana Field for a four-game series.

Tampa Bay (39-40) hasn’t just won five straight — its pitching owns a scoreless streak of 22 innings since Giancarlo Stanton homered off Vidal Nuno in Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees.

The Rays are on their fourth winning streak of at least five games this season and can reach .500 for the third time this season and first instance since they were 26-26 following a 1-0 win at Oakland on May 28.

And as well as the Rays are playing, holding opponents to one run or less eight times in their last 14 games, the Astros (54-28) are still 17-3 in their last 20 games. One of those losses, ending a 12-game win streak last week, was a 2-1 setback against these same Rays.

Tampa Bay began its relievers-as-starters experiment on May 19 and manager Kevin Cash calls them “openers.” Since then, the Rays have the lowest ERA in baseball at 2.87, edging the Yankees (2.96).

“The pitching’s been outstanding, keeping us in every single ballgame,” Cash told reporters. “It’s kind of how we’re built. We’ve got to take advantage of it when we get it. And we’re getting it here of late.”

A big part of Tampa Bay’s effectiveness is reliever-turned-opener Ryne Stanek (1-1 Carl Lawson Jersey , 1.99) who gets the ball first for the Rays on Thursday.

Stanek has been dominant in his unique role in June — 10 games, 13 innings, only four hits and no earned runs. He faced the Astros on back-to-back days last week, oddly enough as a starter and reliever, throwing a combined 2 2/3 innings of hitless, shutout baseball.

The Astros head to Tampa Bay after taking two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays. Houston closed out the series Wednesday afternoon when Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer in the ninth for a 7-6 win.

Bregman went 3-for-5 and was 9-for-14 with three homers against the Blue Jays.

“Bregman’s pretty locked in the last couple of days,” Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel told reporters. “That’s what he provides for our team, moments in the clutch.”

It will be a homecoming for Astros starter Lance McCullers (8-3, 3.82), who was born in Tampa and graduated from Tampa’s Jesuit High School. Still just 24, McCullers has already set a career high for wins and hasn’t taken a loss in his last five starts. Houston is 11-5 in his starts this season.

McCullers has pitched at Tropicana twice before, once each in 2015 and 2016 Tyler Eifert Jersey , and each time, he’s allowed four earned runs in six innings for an 0-2 record and a 6.00 ERA in his career against the Rays.

The relievers-as-starters strategy is just part of Cash’s unconventional approach.

In Tuesday’s 1-0 win against the Nationals, Cash played a pitcher at first base for one out, shifting reliever Jose Alvarado to first to avoid having to make a situational pitching change. Chaz Roe got the out with Alvarado manning first (with a runner to hold no less), and while Alvarado gave up two hits in his return to the mound, Sergio Romo got the final outs and the Rays outdueled Max Scherzer for a memorable win.

This four-game series wraps up a daunting 16-game run for the Rays in which they had seven games each against the Astros and Yankees (and two against the Nationals). And yet, somehow, they’re 7-5 in those games with four remaining.

From there, the schedule eases up, as Tampa Bay goes on the road to face the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets. The Astros have two games at the Texas Rangers, but then close the first half of the season with 11 straight games at home before the All-Star break.
Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. showed another sign he is prepared to put aside his contract talks for now.

Beckham reported with fellow veterans for the opening day of Giants training camp. Beckham didn't talk to the media Wednesday as veterans arrived at the Giants' headquarters adjacent to MetLife Stadium.

The 25-year-old Beckham will earn $8.5 million entering the fifth and final season of his rookie contract. If the Giants do not designate him as a franchise player, he's eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2019. He wants to be the NFL's highest-paid player.

First-year coach Pat Shurmur plans to be cautious how his three-time Pro Bowl receiver will be used Matt Prater Jersey , especially in training camp. Beckham broke his left ankle in Week 5 and never returned as the Giants finished 3-13.

"As we go forward, he's coming back from injury," Shurmur said. "We're going to continue to be smart about what we give him from the start."

Shurmur punted when asked if Beckham's contract status would be a distraction to the team.

"We don't talk about contracts," he said. "The focus for me is to keep the players thinking about football."

Shurmur takes over a team ranked 31st in total defense and 21st in offense last season. The offense should benefit from running back Saquon Barkley, the second overall pick in the draft.

"He's very smart, he gets it," said Shurmur of the Penn State standout. "In a lot of ways that's a great place to start. He's super-talented. The thing that stuck out to me is he embraces work. The mind is always looking for an easy way out and he doesn't."

The Giants significantly upgraded their offensive line by signing left tackle Nate Solder from New England. That moves Ereck Flowers, the Giants' top pick in 2015, to right tackle. Flowers struggled to protect Eli Manning in the passing game.

Second-round pick Will Hernandez out of UTEP should vie for a spot at guard.

The defense, which will have a 3-4 look this season under new coordinator James Bettcher, will be bolstered by the additions of free-agent linebackers Alec Ogletree, Kareem Martin and Connor Barwin Fozzy Whittaker Jersey , who was signed Wednesday.

Manning returns for his 15th year and is buoyed by the prospects of throwing to a healthy Beckham; second-year tight-end Evan Engram; the speedy Sterling Shepard, who caught 59 passes as a slot target; and Barkley.

"I'm excited about the guys who are on this offense." Manning said. "The receivers, the offensive line, the playmakers we have. It looks good on paper, but we have to make sure we do what we need to do on the field.

"There's always expectations and no one has higher expectations than I do. You have to make the most of it each and every season."

Never in the 92-year history of the franchise had the Giants lost 13 games in a season. For the first time in 39 seasons, they will be led by a new head coach and general manager (Dave Gettleman) after Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese were fired.

Gettleman, however, is undergoing treatment for lymphoma.

NOTES: Olivier Vernon, who will move from DE to a pass-rushing outside LB, said he will leave the national anthem policy to the commissioner and the NFL Players Association. Vernon was the only Giants player to take a knee every game last season. . Former special teams coordinator Tom Quinn is back. He is helping the club while current coordinator Thomas McGaughey deals with "health issues." ...There is some concern whether supplemental draft pick Sam Beal will play this season. The cornerback hurt a shoulder in rookie practices this week and might need surgery.

(Corrects spelling of Saquon Barkley)
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