The Tampa Bay Rays look to rebound from a painful 7-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
Because of the injuries to Mikie Mahtook (fractured left hand) and Steve Pearce (right hamstring strain), Tampa Bay enters tonight’s game with nine players on the disabled list: Steven Souza Jr. (left hip strain), Kevin Kiermaier (fractured left hand), Brandon Guyer (strained left hamstring), Alex Cobb (Tommy John Surgery), Chase Whitley (Tommy John Surgery), Ryan Brett (right pectoral strain), Brad Boxberger (left oblique strain), and now Mahtook and Pearce. That does not include the three players on the Minor League DL, who are on the team’s 40-man roster: Andrew Bellatti, Ryan Brett and Justin O’Conner. Still the Rays persevere.
Blake Snell (0-1, 2.16 ERA) will get the start tonight for Tampa Bay, opposite of Corey Kluber (6-7 4.23 ERA). Snell was knocked out in the fourth inning against Seattle in his Tropicana Field debut last Thursday. The lefty was much better than that in his big league debut against New York on April 23rd, when he allowed just one run over five innings. Kluber, a former Cy Young Award winner, allowed three runs in 7-2/3 innings when he faced the Rays on April 12th. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 6/21/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Miller SS
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Jennings CF
Dickerson DH
Motter LF
Decker RF
Conger C
Snell LHP
Noteworthiness
— As I wrote earlier, Mahtook (fractured left hand) and Pearce (right hamstring strain) have been placed on the 15-day DL. The team corresponded by promoting INF Nick Franklin and RHP Ryan Garton.
— Join representatives from the Baseball Forever campaign on Tuesday, June 21st at the Hanger Restaurant and Flight Lounge, where you can learn about the city’s initiative to keep the Rays in the Sunshine City. While you’re there, sign up for Rays memorabilia or free tickets to a future ballgame.