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Three Rays injured in Wednesday night’s ballgame; one to be placed on the IL

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Catcher Anthony Bemboom was rewarded with a breakout night by getting placed on the IL with a left knee sprain.

In the spirit of the movie Spinal Tap, another Tampa Bay Rays catcher has been bit by the injury bug and will be placed on the Injured List (IL). This time, replacement backstop Anthony Bemboom — in the midst of a career game — left Wednesday night’s contest because of a left knee sprain. Two other players, third baseman Yandy Díaz and outfielder Guillermo Heredia, were also pulled from the game, although their injuries do not necessitate placement on the IL.

After going hitless in his big league debut on Sunday, Bemboom connected with his first big league hit, an RBI double, in the second inning off Jose Urena, which ended up being the decisive run in the Rays’ 1-0 win on Wednesday.

But, after collecting his second hit, Bemboom’s night came to an end in the sixth inning after he suffered a fifth-inning left knee sprain on a move that he said he has made “1,000 times” in his career.

It’s a little tough. Obviously, everything you can do to help the team win is great, and I’m excited about that. But also, anytime you’re not on the field, it’s kind of tough not being able to help your team win and be available.

— Anthony Bemboom

Michael Perez (oblique strain)

Mike Zunino (quad strain)

Anthony Bemboom (left knee sprain)

Bemboom joins Michael Perez and Mike Zunino as the catchers on the IL, and will likely be replaced by Nick Ciuffo on the 25-man roster before the series opener against the Yankees on Friday.

Diaz was pulled from the game in the seventh inning due to left ankle discomfort, which he suffered in the sixth inning as he rounded third base before being stopped by third-base coach Rodney Linares. When the frame ended, trainer Joe Binge and manager Kevin Cash checked on Diaz, although he remained in the game for the time being.

Through a Spanish speaking translator, Diaz said that he felt some discomfort with the ankle, which is the same one that forced him to miss a game earlier this season. He, however, is listed as day-to-day and should be ready to play on Friday.

I feel fine. I’ll be able to play on Friday.

— Yandy Diaz

Heredia left the game with a right hand contusion after being hit by a pitch by Urena in the fifth inning. X-Rays on the injury came back negative, and Heredia is listed as day-to-day.

I feel better now that everything came back negative. The pain goes away, but that’s not something that’ll keep me out of games.

— Guillermo Heredia

There is no word on whether Heredia will available on Friday, or if he will get another day of rest.

Tyler Glasnow headed to the 10-day IL; Rays 5/11/19 pre-game notes

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Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 10-day IL with a right forearm strain. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

The Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series against the New York Yankees tonight, after receiving relatively good news regarding right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who left last night’s ballgame with right forearm tightness.

An MRI revealed a mild forearm strain for the right-hander, not a tear in his UCL which likely would have necessitated Tommy John surgery. Glasnow was placed on the Injured List and will be shut down for 7-10 days. Depending on how he feels then, Glasnow can resume throwing and build back up, with the potential to return to the rotation in four-to-six weeks, or mid-to-late-June. With a spot open on the active roster, INF/OF Andrew Velazquez has been recalled from Triple-A Durham for at least the next five days when Glasnow would have made his next scheduled start.

Losing the right-hander is another blow for a team that already has Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, Matt Duffy and Joey Wendle on the IL. Yet the diagnosis and timetable for a return are positive as arm injuries go.

With the hurler out for at least the next month, Tampa Bay will rely on starters Blake Snell and Charlie Morton and bulk guys Yonny Chirinos and Jalen Beeks to help fill the void unless the team decides to make Chirinos a full-time starter.

There’s also the possibility that the Rays look to in-house options such as Ryan Yarbrough or Jake Faria to help with bullpen depth, or to slot into the starting rotation.

This is where we talk about our depth all the time. Our depth will be challenged and tested, and we have confidence in the guys and the options that we have.

— Kevin Cash

The Rays were able to fortify the catching ranks on Saturday by activating Travis d’Arnaud, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during Friday’s ballgame.

To make room for D’Arnaud on the 40-man roster, Matt Duffy was placed on the 60-day DL. That means Duffy cannot be activated from the IL until May 27th. The third baseman will resume his rehab Monday with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. The team optioned catcher Nick Ciuffo back to Durham to clear space on the 25-man roster, leaving Anthony Bemboom to make his big league debut at some point in the near future.

The New What Next

Ryne Stanek (0-1, 2.50 ERA) will open for the Rays today and is expected to be followed by bulk inning guy Yonny Chirinos (4-1, 3.52 ERA). They’ll be opposed by C.C. Sabathia (2-1, 3.20 ERA).

Ryne Stanek threw two scoreless frames on Tuesday in a win against the Diamondbacks. The right-hander has thrown scoreless baseball in eight of the nine games he’s opened. The Rays have allowed first-inning runs in each of the last two contests, so hopefully, Stanek can end that skid tonight.

Yonny Chirinos took a hard-luck loss against Baltimore on Saturday, allowing three runs on seven hits across 7-1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one. Chirinos was used as a traditional starter and ended up delivering a quality start for the Rays. The right-hander has pitched well with a 3.52 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 4.14 K/BB over 38-1/3 innings, with most of his damage coming in one outing in which he allowed six runs over 2-1/3 innings (April 12).

CC Sabathia gave up three earned runs on five hits over five innings while striking out five and walking three against the Mariners. The swarthy southpaw wasn’t particularly efficient, needing 99 pitches to make it through five innings, yet he was able to pick up his second victory of the season thanks to a lot of early run support. Sabathia has posted solid ratios over his five 2019 starts, performing to a 3.20 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 25-1/3 innings. Sabathia relies primarily on an 89 mph cutter with strong cutting action and an 80 mph sweeping slider, while also mixing in an 89 mph sinker, and a whiffy 83 mph worm-killer changeup. Sabathia is 17-16 with a 3.67 ERA in 48 career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (2-8, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (5-16, 2 HR, 2 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, and the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs Yankees — a series preview

Rays 5/11/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 3B
  2. Pham LF
  3. Robertson 2B
  4. Garcia RF
  5. d’Arnaud C
  6. Meadows DH
  7. Heredia CF
  8. Adames SS
  9. Choi 1B
  10. Stanek Right-Handed Opener

Rays Roster Moves: Zunino placed on IL, Meadows activated

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Primary catcher Mike Zunino was placed on the IL with a significant left quad strain.

The Tampa Bay Rays made a flurry of roster moves on Friday, placing primary catcher Mike Zunino on the 10-day Injured List with a left quad strain, promoting backstop Anthony Bemboon from Triple-A Durham, optioning INF/OF Andrew Velazquez back to Durham, recalling RHP Casey Sadler from the Bulls, and activating OF Austin Meadows from the IL.

Tampa Bay has now lost its top two catchers in the last 48-hours. Michael Perez was placed on the 10-day IL due to oblique tightness and replaced on the 25-man roster by Nick Ciuffo, who will serve as the Rays’ primary catcher for the time being. Ciuffo hasn’t established himself as an offensive option in Triple-A, where he slashed .236 BA/.272 OBP/.347 SLG/.619 OPS over 316 career plate appearances. He, however, does control the running game quite well — a 42% caught-stealing rate in his minor league career — and graded out as an above-average pitch framer in 2018, according to Baseball Prospectus.

The 29-year-old Bemboom has only played in eight games this season thanks to a thumb injury suffered during Spring Training. He had not played in Durham until April 24, but even then he has only played in five games. Bemboom is a career .249 BA/.344 OBP/.382 SLG/.726 OPS hitter in Triple-A and carries a 31% caught-stealing rate extending back to 2012. Per MLB Trade Rumors, he posted above-average marks in pitch framing in each of the past two seasons, as well.

Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) suggested that Zunino could be out anywhere from three-to-five weeks due to the severity of the injury. Perez is expected to miss two-to-three weeks. The team could search for catching depth in the meantime.

Tampa Bay also activated Meadows after a stint on the IL due to a sprained thumb which he suffered on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple in an April 21st ballgame. The outfielder, who was instantly placed back into the lineup — hitting out of the leadoff spot — said he feels good and is ready to go.

Sadler had been sent back down on Wednesday, although he is eligible to return due to the Zunino injury. He will add a fresh arm to the ‘pen, as the Rays are planning to use an opener/bulk guy on Saturday. In order to make room for the right-hander on the 25-man roster, the team optioned utility player Andrew Velazquez back to Durham.

TNWN: Rays look to close out series in Boston with a win

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Mike Zunino had himself a day both behind the dish and in the batter’s box yesterday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After eking out a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays look for a sweep in the rain-shortened two-game set this afternoon at Fenway Park. Shocker of the century, rain is in the forecast in Boston this afternoon. Too bad there isn’t a roof covering the Red Sox’s vaunted stadium.

Mike Zunino played a critical role in yesterday’s contest, both behind the plate and in the batter’s box. Up by a run thanks to Yandy Diaz, who hit a Monster shot in the first inning, Tampa Bay scraped across a run in the fourth when Tommy Pham doubled off the Monster and scored on a one-out single off the wall by Mike Zunino. After that, Price and four relievers allowed four walks, yet no hits, keeping the Rays off the board.

Meanwhile, Charlie Morton faced Boston for the second consecutive start and allowed just two hits and four walks across six innings of work, on 102 pitches (61 strikes, 60% strike rate). The right-hander didn’t have his best stuff, yet he still kept the Red Sox off the board. Morton worked out of a jam  in the second inning —  striking out Jackie Bradley Jr. and getting Christian Vazquez to ground out to short after allowing a pair of base runners with one out.

Boston again threatened in the third when Mookie Betts reached base on an infield single then advanced into scoring position on a throwing error by Willy Adames. Betts moved into third on a wild pitch, but the right-hander came up with a big strikeout against Xander Bogaerts to end the threat.

Morton got a little help from Zunino in the fourth when he picked Rafael Devers off first base to get the first out of the frame. Even though Michael Chavis drew a walk one pitch later, Tampa Bay turned a 6-4-3 double play to close out the inning. Morton coaxed a second double play an inning later, in the fifth.

The agile Zunino was active behind the plate, something that was critically important in the eighth when the Red Sox mounted their biggest threat of the game. He blocked multiple pitches in the dirt which, had they gotten past the backstop, assuredly would have spelled doom for Tampa Bay.

The win on Saturday was Tampa Bay’s first over Boston in four tries, and the team’s first one-run win in five games this season.

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 1.53 ERA) will get the start in the series finale, pitching opposite of Chris Sale (0-4, 7.43 ERA).

Tyler Glasnow struck out five and allowed two runs on three walks and three hits over 5-1/3 innings on Sunday. Coming into Sunday’s start, the right-hander had issued just three free passes in 24 innings but matched that total against Boston. He also threw just 49 of 76 pitches for strikes (64% strike rate), yet made the big pitch when he needed to. Still, Glasnow owns a terrific 4.83 K/BB and a 1.53 ERA this season. The right-hander will try to get his revenge against Boston on Saturday.

Chris Sale gave up two earned runs on five hits over five innings of work in his last start. He fanned 10 and walked two in the Red Sox 7-4 loss. Sale shut out the Tigers over the first three frames but yielded single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the latter on a solo homer. The southpaw struck out two batters in each inning, throwing 97 pitches overall (72 strikes, 74% strike rate). This season Sale has relied primarily on a 78 mph sweeping slider, a 93 mph four-seam fastball with heavy sinking action and arm-side run, and an 85 mph circle changeup with obvious arm-side fade that dives down out of the zone, while also mixing in a 92 mph sinker with obvious tail and natural sinking action. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-3, HR, RBI), Yandy Diaz (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB), Avisail Garcia (3-6, 2B), Kevin Kiermaier (5-17, HR, 3 RBI, BB)

You can read about the series in our preview, and the lineup is below, as is Noteworthiness.

TNWN: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview, part two

Rays 4/28/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Pham LF
  3. Robertson 2B
  4. Garcia DH
  5. Zunino C
  6. Kiermaier CF
  7. Heredia RF
  8. Adames SS
  9. Arroyo 3B
  10. Glasnow RHP

Noteworthiness

— JD Martinez (back spasms) remains out of the lineup for Boston.

— The Rays made a roster move this morning, reinstating RHP Hunter Wood and optioning RHP Austin Pruitt back to Durham.

— Just sayin’…

— Who says Yandy can only hit line drive missiles?!


TNWN: Rays in salvage mode after dropping three straight games; roster moves

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Austin Meadows hit one of the Rays four triples last night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Another night, another frustrating loss. The Tampa Bay Rays are looking to bounce back against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. The Rays have dropped three consecutive games overall — allowing six runs in each game — and each by one or two runs.

Saturday’s loss can be attributed to a poor sequence of pitches by Charlie Morton in the second inning, and a series of baserunning and hitting gaffes by Tommy Pham.

Morton allowed five runs to the Red Sox in a messy second that included a leadoff single, a pair of walks, a run-scoring hit by pitch, and Andrew Benintendi’s grand slam.

Just fell behind a few guys. I wouldn’t say it was a poorly executed pitch to Benintendi, I would just say it was the wrong pitch.

— Charlie Morton

Source: FanGraphs

Morton, however, gave up nothing else over the balance of his six-inning outing and kept the Rays in the ballgame, while striking out nine batters. Because of it, Tampa Bay was able to work its way back into the ballgame, ultimately tying the game in the eighth inning on Yandy Diaz’s opposite-field solo home run off of Matt Barnes.

https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1119765484684107777

Still, Tampa Bay went 2-for-9 wRISP and stranded six runners on base. The Red Sox were able to coax two important double plays, both off the bat of Pham. The outfielder also made a costly game-ending baserunning gaffe when he was caught too far off first base and picked off with a runner at third.

All I’m going to say is I (screwed) up, and that’s it. I have nothing else to say. I messed up. … There’s no other need to explain. 

— Tommy Pham

Credit where it is due, the Red Sox did a great job setting the trap. After the game, catcher Christian Vazquez said the coaches “told me to watch for it.” Vazquez made a note of where Pham was and flashed a sign to first baseman Steve Pearce to be ready for a pickoff throw.

Pham has grounded into six of the team’s total 14 double plays on the season and has been caught stealing and/or picked off five times. He hit into 18 double plays in each of the last two seasons … that Pham has hit into 1/3 of that total in just 21 games (13% of the season) is quite alarming.

Tampa Bay hit four triples yesterday, a franchise record, equaling the team’s total over the first 20 games combined. They, however, became the first team to lose after hitting four triples since September 21, 1998, when the Royals fell to the Tigers.

Turn the page.

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 1.13 ERA) will try to get the Rays back on the winning track, pitching opposite of former Ray David Price (1-2, 3.79 ERA).

Tyler Glasnow tied the longest outing by a Tampa Bay hurler in the first 17 games of the season, although you never would have guessed his final line based on his first three innings of work.

The Orioles, who have outscored opponents 16-5 in the first inning, jumped ahead early against Glasnow. With one out and none on, Trey Mancini singled to right-center and moved up to second on a Dwight Smith Junior’s single to right. Then, Rio Ruiz hit a two-out RBI single to right-center, scoring Mancini. Baltimore’s hitters spat on Glasnow’s curveball, hunted fastballs, attacked him early in the count, and worked him for 26 pitches in the first inning alone.

After Glasnow worked around a leadoff single in the second, Baltimore extended the lead in the third. Smith reached on an infield hit to second; Brandon Lowe had difficulty getting the ball out of his glove. Smith swiped second, then came home on Renato Nunez’s double that deflected off Yandy Diaz and traveled up the third base line.

From that point on, however, Glasnow quietly went to work and threw up four consecutive zeroes — working around a base hit by coaxing a double play in the fourth inning and retiring the final 10 batters he would face in a row.

Glasnow didn’t walk a batter and scattered seven hits while striking out three. He threw 87 pitches (61 strikes, 70% strike rate) total and just 61 over the final six frames.

David Price earned his first win of the season on Sunday, allowing three hits while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings. Price allowed four runs in each of his first two outings but was rewarded for his efforts in his last outing. The former Ray pounded the zone, firing 64 of 92 pitches for strikes (70% strike rate). Price will carry 20 punchouts over 19 frames into his upcoming start on Sunday. Price relies primarily on a whiffy 93 mph sinker, a firm 85 mph circle changeup, and a 93 mph four-seam fastball while mixing in the occasional 90 mph cutter. Key Matchups: Yandy Diaz (1-3), Avisail Garcia (4-15, HR, 5 RBI), Micahel Perez (1-3)

You can read about the series in our preview.

TNWN: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview

Rays 4/21/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Pham LF
  3. Robertson 3B
  4. Garcia DH
  5. Wendle 2B
  6. Heredia RF
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Adames SS
  9. Perez C
  10. Glasnow RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays announced a series of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s contest.

The team placed Austin Meadows (sprained thumb), who has been a big part of what the Rays have done so far, on the Injured List; put Hunter Wood on the Paternity List; optioned Jake Faria back to Triple-A Durham; activated INF Joey Wendle from the IL; and recalled RHP Emilio Pagan, and INF/OF Christian Velazquez.