The Tampa Bay Rays begin the second half of the regular season tonight, when they begin the first of a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Michael Wacha (2-2, 4.87 ERA) will get the start, taking on former Ray Charlie Morton (8-3, 3.64 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:20.
Rays Starting Lineup
Lowe RF
Choi 1B
Franco 3B
Meadows LF
Wendle 2B
Kiermaier CF
Zunino C
Walls SS
Wacha P
Braves Starting Lineup
Almonte RF
Freeman 1B
Albies 2B
Riley 3B
Arcia LF
Swanson SS
Heredia CF
Smith C
Morton P
Friendly Banter Already Starts Between Rays, Morton
After spending the last two seasons in Tampa Bay before signing with the Braves this past offseason, the Rays and Braves starter Charlie Morton are intimately familiar with each other. And the two sides have already communicated.
Catcher Mike Zunino said he has already exchanged text messages with his former teammate, who he will step in the batters box against tonight for the first time in the regular season as an opponent.
“I think I’m more excited to see him hit than to face him,” the All-Star catcher said Friday before the game. “But it’ll be a good time.”
Zunino said there wasn’t any serious trash talking going back and forth, but more of a friendly banter.
“I told him to take it easy on me today,” Zunino laughed. “And he said the same.”
Former Ray Longoria Adds To Home Lineup
Evan Longoria spent nearly a decade in Tampa Bay, and he and wife Jaime welcomed their first two children, daughter Elle and son Nash, while in a Rays uniform. The Longorias added to their roster a couple of weeks back, welcoming a third child, a daughter named Lou, on July 1.
Longoria has been on the injured list with a shoulder injury for the San Francisco Giants since colliding with teammate Brandon Crawford while trying to field a ground ball on June 5.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
