(Photo credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images)

As they prepare to close out a June to remember, the Tampa Bay Rays will also hope to start off another great week.

Propelled into the American League playoff chase and pursuing the first-place New York Yankees in the East, the Rays will host the opener of a three-game series against the Athletics on Monday night.

The Rays are 17-9 (.654 winning percentage) in the month after losing 5-1 at the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. The setback concluded a 4-2 week that included a sweep at the Kansas City Royals and a three-game series loss to their division rivals.

However, Brandon Lowe's 18th home run in Sunday's setback extended his hitting streak to a majors-best 16 games.

The lefty-swinging second baseman is hitting .403 during the streak with five homers and 13 RBIs. He is 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

With a standout rotation, Rays manager Kevin Cash will send out his first-half ace Drew Rasmussen against the AL West's last-place club.

Over 16 starts, Rasmussen (7-5, 2.45 ERA) has emerged as an All-Star lock and the team's top pitcher with left-handed flamethrower Shane McClanahan out since 2023 and currently seeking help for a nerve problem.

The right-handed Rasmussen will make his fourth appearance (third start) against the Athletics. He is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA over 13 innings in three career appearances (two starts) that have yielded just three hits for the A's.

Rasmussen, 29, has battled through three major elbow surgeries, forcing the staff to limit his workload by keeping him to a maximum of five or six innings per start.

'He always makes it tough because he's so good, we feel so good when he's out on the mound with us, but we have to continue to be smart and just monitor the overall body of work and the workload,' Cash said Wednesday after Rasmussen delivered his fifth scoreless outing in the past eight starts.

Added the pitcher, 'They're just looking out for me and my greater good. And it's hard to complain about that.'

The Athletics are 11-16 this month, a June that saw skipper Mark Kotsay's squad produce its season-high four-game winning streak two weeks ago.

Still, the Athletics own the AL's worst run differential (minus-142) and are 18 games under .500 after losing 12-5 on Sunday in New York and dropping two of three against the Yankees.

In Saturday's 7-0 win over the Yankees led by former New York hurler JP Sears -- the team's sixth shutout this season -- the A's turned to their offensive standout Brent Rooker to snap a nasty 27-inning scoreless skid.

'It took a big hit from the guy that is the leader, the guy we lean on for offense,' said Kotsay. 'He is a middle-of-the-order bat. He is the All-Star, and he hit 39 homers last year. ... That started the offense today.'

Coming off his best outing this season in Detroit, Athletics starter Jacob Lopez (2-4, 3.56) will face another playoff-caliber team in the Rays in his debut against them.

Over seven scoreless innings Wednesday against the AL Central-leading Tigers, the left-hander allowed just three hits, a walk and a hit by pitch while striking out six. Two starts prior, he fired six shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals.

In his past 23 frames over four starts, the 27-year-old has yielded just one earned run for a 0.39 ERA with 29 strikeouts.

--Field Level Media