the American League Cy Young Award.Blake Snell’s name has to be in the discussion.And Tuesday night http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , Snell, in his first full season in the major leagues, will try to pitch his Tampa Bay Rays to their third straight shutout.Article continues below ...Monday night’s four-pitcher, 1-0 blanking of the Kansas City Royals extended the Rays’ scoreless streak to 23 innings.The left-hander, a starter gem in the midst of a team using “openers” from the bullpen more often than actual starters, takes a 14-5 record and 2.10 ERA to the mound against Kansas City rookie Glenn Sparkman in the second contest of a four-game series at the Trop in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday night.Sparkman, a Rule 5 draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays later returned to the Royals, makes his second career start for K.C.Snell has turned in a pair of five-inning shutout efforts and is 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA in his last eight starts, a span interrupted by a brief stay on the disabled list with left shoulder fatigue.He is the Rays’ first 14-game winner since Matt Moore won 17 in 2013 and pitched in the All-Star Game but only as a replacement after the players failed to vote him in.Former teammate David Price, long a fan of his fellow lefty, was talking over the weekend about Snell eventually being selected, saying Brett Gardner Jersey , “Thank goodness. The fact that he wasn’t voted in by the players, that was bad.”Snell lost his only career start against the Royals last season.Monday night, Hunter Wood was the “opener,” worked the first 1 2/3 innings before Ryan Yarbrough pitched 5 1/3 of two-hit relief en route to the 1-0 victory.The Rays, improving to 23-28 in a whopping 50 one-run games, scored a run on a review in the second inning. The run was awarded after Willy Adames was called out on a play at first but the call was reversed and he had an RBI single.“It just shows we had to play seven innings of perfect baseball,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.Yarbrough (12-5) struck out six and notched his major league-high 10th relief victory as the Rays moved back to three games over .500 on the season.Jorge Lopez (0-3) threw 95 pitches and allowed the only run Monday night — in his second start with the Royals after coming over in the Mike Moustakas trade. He gave up five hits, none of them hard, but was the hard-luck loser.“He could have gotten quicker decisions (on hitters),” K.C. manager Ned Yost said. “They were pitches that could have gone either way. … But I thought he threw the ball extremely well.”The Royals scored six runs in the second inning at Chicago on Sunday, but have been shut out in 16 straight innings since.Jake Newberry made his major league debut Monday, pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out three.Sparkman, returned to the Royals last month http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , threw 75 pitches over four innings against the Blue Jays in his other start — two runs, four hits and three strikeouts over four innings.Danny Duffy, on the 10-day disabled list with left shoulder impingement, threw a bullpen Monday and said he felt fine. How he feels Tuesday will determine if he comes off the DL to pitch Thursday night’s finale. The Houston Astros stormed out of the gates with a 7-2 victory over Boston in Game 1 of the ALCS, before the Red Sox evened things up with a 7-5 win on Sunday night.The series now shifts to Houston, with the first pitch of Game 3 scheduled for 5:09 p.m. ET from Minute Maid Park. TBS will have the broadcast.Ahead you'll find a few bold predictions for the game, including the final score. Nathan Eovaldi Continues Boosting his Free-Agent StockNathan EovaldiBillie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty ImagesAfter missing the 2017 season recovering from a second Tommy John surgery, Nathan Eovaldi returned strong for the Tampa Bay Rays, posting a 4.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 57 innings over 10 starts.That was good enough for the Red Sox to bite at the trade deadline, and he pitched to a 3.33 ERA over 54 innings spanning11 starts and one relief following the trade.He took the ball in Game 3 of the ALDS and tossed a gem in his postseason debut, allowing just five hits and one earned run over seven innings.He again gets the start in Game 3 of the ALCS, and he'll be looking to add a few more zeroes to his upcoming foray into free agency with another strong start.The 28-year-old allowed seven hits and four earned runs in six innings against the Astros back on June 20 when he was still pitching for the Rays. He's 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in two career starts at Minute Maid Park. Jose Altuve Keeps Things CloseElsa/Getty ImagesOff to a quiet 1-for-8 start through two games, look for Jose Altuve to make some noise for the Astros in Game 3.Altuve hit .310/.388/.634 with two doubles Brian Roberts Jersey , seven home runs and 14 RBI in 80 plate appearances last postseason, and there's a reason he's a career .316/.365/.453 hitter over eight big league seasons.He's simply too good of a hitter to keep quiet all series.The 28-year-old also has strong numbers in his career against Eovaldi, having gone5-for-15 with one double and two home runs. That includes a 3-for-4 performance earlier this season that included a double and a home run.It's a small sample size, and batter vs. pitchers splits can often be attributed more to chance than anything else, but it's still reason enough to call Altuve a player to watch for Houston in Game 3.Look for a multi-hit performance and a long ball, as Eovaldi pitches well, but the Astros are able to keep things close thanks to their offensive spark plug. The Red Sox Take Control of the SeriesMookie BettsMaddie Meyer/Getty ImagesAfter splitting the first two games, there's no question Game 3 will be pivotal in this series.The pitching matchup of Dallas Keuchel and Eovaldi could help keep the offenses quiet in the early going, but don't expect a pitcher's duel.Look for both starters to run into some trouble the second time through the batting order.Eovaldi bends but doesn't break, while the Red Sox put a crooked number on the board in the fifth inning to seize control of the game and the series.Jackie Bradley Jr. delivered the big blow in Game 2 with a three-run double. This time, it's Mookie Betts who gets the job done with a three-run home run that puts Boston up for good.Final Score:Red Sox 6, Astros 2All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.