Boston Red Sox

Rain threatens Rays-Red Sox series finale (May 14, 2017)

Published May. 13, 2017 7:49 p.m. ET

BOSTON -- The New England weather, which already forced Saturday's game to be pushed up six hours, may well play a factor in the series finale between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

A spring Nor'easter was expected to dump 1-3 inches of rain in the area from Saturday night through at least Sunday early afternoon, leaving the start of the 1:35 p.m. ET game in doubt.

If all does go according to schedule, the Rays (18-21) will send right-hander Matt Andriese to the mound against left-hander Drew Pomeranz in the rubber match of the three-game series.

The Rays won Friday night, building a 5-0 lead and hanging on for a 5-4 victory, before Chris Sale pitched the Red Sox to a 6-3 win Saturday in the game that was pushed up to early afternoon because of the forecast.

Andriese, who is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two May starts, will be pitching on Mother's Day for the second straight year. He came up and made his first major league start on the special day in 2016.

"It's kind of weird how it all worked out again, pitching on Mother's Day," he said. "It's always good to throw on Mother's Day to show the appreciation for all the moms out there. It'll be fun."

Last year, his mom, Lynne, and his family were in Anaheim for his debut. That won't be the case on Sunday.

"I talk to her every day," Andriese said of his mother. "It's kind of my gift to her, just to go out there and have a good game and hopefully get the win. I appreciate everything she's done for my life. She's very sacrificial and I wouldn't be where I'm at today without her."

Pomeranz has to hope Mother's Day can help him turn around what has thus far been a tough May for him. He has a 7.71 ERA in two May starts and gave up five first-inning runs (six total ) in Milwaukee in his last start.

He pitches -- weather permitting -- Sunday with a chance to help his team win the rubber match of the three-game series.

On Saturday, with the Red Sox in danger of dropping back to .500 for the first time since being 5-5, Sale and relievers Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel combined to strike out 17 Rays in the Boston victory. The game was scheduled for an evening start but moved to early afternoon because of the predicted storm.

"We support him today," Boston manager John Farrell said of Sale, who has won three straight but is just 4-2 because of an earlier lack of run support. "We come back twice to give him the lead and then both Kelly and Kimbrel were outstanding in the bullpen."

Brad Miller leads the Rays' hitters against Pomeranz, going 7-for-15 (.467) with a homer and five RBIs, but the other Tampa Bay hitters have struggled against the lefty. Evan Longoria is 1-for-11 (.091), Kevin Kiermaier 2-for-11 (.182), Steve Souza Jr. 1-for-6 (.143) with four strikeouts and Logan Morrison 1-for-6 (.167).

Mookie Betts has punished Andriese to the tune of 6-for-13 (.462), and Hanley Ramirez is 3-for-4 (.750), Dustin Pedroia 3-for-6 (.500) and Sandy Leon 3-for-10 (.300). However, Xander Bogaerts is just 1-for-12 (.083) and Jackie Bradley Jr. 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.

The Rays move on to Cleveland for three games starting Monday night. The Red Sox, who were home just for this three-game series, visit the St. Louis Cardinals for two games starting Tuesday and then go to Oakland for four next weekend.