After a wild, 16-inning marathon — resulting in a 9-6 victory — the Tampa Bay Rays look to win the first leg of the 2018 Citrus Series this afternoon in Miami.
There’s too much to unpack from last night’s contest, so in lieu of half-assing a game recap, check out these three:
Rays: 9, Marlins: 6 – OMG (DRaysBay)
Game 85: Rays 9 Marlins 6 (16 innings) -Postgame News and Notes (Rays Radio)
The secret to Rays 16-inning success vs. Marlins (Tampa Bay Times)
The New What Next
The Rays are planning to rely on a “heavy, heavy” bullpen day against the Marlins, having used nine pitchers in the 16-inning win over Miami.
Matt Andriese (1-3, 3.86 ERA), who pitched Monday, will start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Jose Urena (2-9, 4.40 ERA).
Andriese has allowed runs in four of his six appearances since the start of June, pitching to a 5.52 ERA.
Urena will make his first appearance since being placed on the 10-day DL on June 21 with right shoulder impingement. He had his best outing of the season two turn ago, throwing eight scoreless innings and holding the Orioles to three hits. Urena, however, wasn’t as fortunate five days later, allowing five runs on eight hits over 5-2/3 innings to the Giants. The right-hander is 0-0 with a 1.59 ERA against Tampa Bay in 5-2/3 innings in six relief appearances. This season he has relied primarily on his 96 mph four-seam fastball with heavy sinking action and obvious tail, and a hard 87 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in a 91 mph changeup with backspin and slight armside fade. Key Matchups: Wilson Ramos (1-3), Daniel Robertson (1-1)
You can read about the series in our preview.
Rays 7/4/18 Starting Lineup
Kiermaier CF
Robertson 2B
Bauers LF
Cron 1B
Wendle 3B
Gomez RF
Adames SS
Sucre C
Andriese RHP
Noteworthiness
— Send reinforcements!
#Rays Cash said Nuno is likely headed to DL
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 4, 2018
Vidal Nuno was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain, while Austin Pruitt was optioned back to Triple-A Durham.
Andrew Kittredge was recalled from Durham, and right-hander Ryan Weber was selected from Durham.
To make room for Weber on the 40-man roster, Wilmer Font was transferred to the 60-day DL.
— Chris Archer was sharp on Tuesday in his first, and potentially only, rehab start as he works his way back from an abdominal strain. Archer threw four no-hit innings for the Class-A Charlotte Stone Crabs, striking out seven and walking one, while throwing 37 of his 54 pitches for strikes (68% strike rate). Archer’s fastball velocity was good, clocking in at 93-96 mph. If all goes well, and Archer feels good over the next few days, the Rays could bring him back as soon as Monday against Detroit at Tropicana Field, giving him two starts before the All-Star Break.