Ha-Seong Kim draws a start at shortstop Thursday

Apart from two solo home runs, Martinez was effective yet again here. Both Tommy White and Henry Bolte took him deep in the second inning, but the Athletics didn’t have many scoring chances besides those long balls. At the same time, he only forced four total swings-and-misses as he relied on his sinker a bit more than usual and the Rays yanked him after just five innings and 72 pitches. That certainly hurts in quality start leagues and Martinez is set to close the season with a potentially scary two-start week against the Yankees and Phillies next week with both games coming on the road.

Zack Gelof put some fear into Sulser and the Rays when he sent a flyout 407 feet to the warning track in center field in a one run game, but it was caught. According to Baseball Savant, that would have been a home run in 16 of 30 ballparks, so Sulser was lucky to give up that deep fly ball at home in the Trop. It was his first save since May 5th and he got this opportunity because Rays’ closer Bryan Baker had just pitched in three of their last four games.

Part of the Rays’ platoon brigade, DeLuca notched two early hits off the Athletics’ left-handed starter Brady Basso and helped Tampa Bay build an early lead. With a .281 batting average against lefties this season, DeLuca consistently hits in the heart of the order against them and is a solid deep league, daily streamer on Friday and Saturday with two more lefties on the schedule.

White got the Athletics going with his solo shot in the second inning, but couldn’t muster up much offense besides that. It was White’s third home run in what’s been a disappointing rookie campaign to go along with a .259 batting average and .618 OPS.

The Rays came out ready to swing it against Basso. Their first four batters of the game each put a ball in play that was hit at least 102 mph and had two runs on the board by the end of the inning. Two more runs in the second put Basso in the hole early and he didn’t even make it out of the third inning. This came after a few decent abbreviated starts though and he’ll have a chance to close his season on a high-note next week against the Angels at home.

Díaz gave up a double to a rehabbing Miguel Andujar, but managed to fire a much-needed scoreless frame. The 32-year-old isn’t a lock for the Dodgers’ postseason roster, but it would be a surprise if he were left off altogether. There’s a chance he’s activated before the end of the week.

Not good. The hope for the Dodgers is that Snell’s early departure was for precautionary reasons since he has a history of groin issues in previous seasons. Any sort of extended absence would be a significant hit to Los Angeles’ postseason rotation. The 33-year-old southpaw exited after throwing just 19 pitches in a scoreless opening frame in Cincinnati. The lone positive takeaway here is that he isn’t dealing with anything arm-related. He’ll presumably head for further evaluation and imaging to determine the severity of the issue and his next steps. There should be some additional clarity on his outlook following the contest.

It’s pretty much the last thing the Dodgers want to see with less than two weeks remaining until the postseason. Snell headed back to the clubhouse after throwing just 19 pitches in a scoreless opening frame. There should be an additional update on his status. Any sort of absence would put his postseason availability in serious jeopardy.

Matthews allowed just two hits on the afternoon. He was in line for the win before Yoendrys Gómez blew the save in the ninth, though the Twins went on to win 5-4 in 13 innings. The 26-year-old righty was hit hard last time out against Detroit, but this was his fourth gem over his past six starts. Inconsistency has been one of the themes of his year, but he’ll look to finish strong on the road against the Giants in his next scheduled start.

Rodón struck out five and walked three in the 102-pitch outing. His velocity was notably down early on before he seemed to find it in the fourth inning. This was Rodón’s 25th straight start without allowing more than three earned runs, a franchise record. Despite the performance, he was in line for the loss before the game went to extra innings, and the Yankees still lost 5-4 in 13 innings. The left-hander lines up for a big divisional showdown against the Rays next time out.