TORONTO -- Tommy Pham left Tuesday night's game in the eighth inning with a tight groin. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters before Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays that Pham would likely not see the field again until Friday night.
"He's fine," Cash said. "A little sore. The groin is sore. The hope is, he gets the day off [tonight]. Gets an off-day [Thursday]. Two days off and it gets him feeling a little better. He could play. But we want to be smart.
"He's missed enough time already with some fluke injuries that were out of his control. So I think two days off will really do well. But he came in today feeling better."
Since coming to the Rays in a July 31 trade with the Cardinals, Pham has missed time with a right foot fracture and a dislocated finger.
Pham is riding a 10-game hitting streak that has seen him hit .419 with two doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Baltimore tough
The Orioles entered Wednesday night's action with 41 wins, but eight of those have come at the Rays' expense. Baltimore will show up to Tropicana Field on Friday with an 8-8 mark against the Rays, outscoring them 102-77.
Cash could not pinpoint why the Rays have struggled against the Orioles this season.
"I think every year, there are some teams, for whatever reason -- I won't say match up well, because I think we match up well with a lot of clubs, we just don't perform well," Cash said. "We've got an opportunity to perform well. ... It's a big series. It's a big homestand. We're going to face some teams who are in different spots in the standings right now, but I've said it for a long time, Baltimore is a team with a lot of young guys who are getting opportunities."
Cash noted that young players are "looking to make good impressions" when they get said opportunities.
"They're like us, in the fact that they're young and you see the effort that we're putting out every night," Cash said. "I would imagine that they're similar and they're going to look to capitalize on any mistake we make.
"Going back to some of the Baltimore games, we haven't really pitched the way we're capable of against them. It starts with our pitching. But I like how our pitching is going into that series."
Worth noting
• Entering Wednesday night's action, the Rays are 22-10 (including the game on July 31) since Major League Baseball's non-waiver Trade Deadline.
• Hunter Wood recorded his first career win Tuesday night, becoming the 23rd different Rays pitcher with a win this season. Wood logged two scoreless innings, pitching the second and third in the Rays' 4-0 win over the Blue Jays. When asked about the win, Wood smiled and noted that he did not know he'd gotten the win until he saw his name on the Rogers Centre scoreboard after the game.
• Down on the farm, a club-record six affiliates made the postseason this season. All nine Rays affiliates finished the regular season at least 10 games over .500, and they combined for a 539-354 (.604) record.