The Tampa Bay Rays will begin their 2021 Grapefruit League schedule today, taking on the Atlanta Braves at Charlotte Sports Park. Today’s game will be a seven-inning contest, and minor-league right-hander Chris Ellis will get the start. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted out the starting lineup this morning
#Rays lineup for spring opener vs. #Braves: pic.twitter.com/TzOPZWpPLh
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 28, 2021
Expect each pitcher to pitch one inning or around 20 pitches. Position players should get two at bats before coming out of the game.
Atlanta, who trains just up US-41 from the Rays in North Port, are sending an equally strong lineup.
#Braves Grapefruit League opener vs the Rays (1:05pm ET on The Fan and @bravesradionet):
Inciarte 8
Swanson 6
Riley 5
Sandoval 3
Kipnis 4
Almonte 9
Jackson 2
Heredia 7
Ball 0
Wright 1— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) February 28, 2021
Today’s game will be heard on Rays Radio flagship 95.3 WDAE and across the Rays Radio Network, but as I do at the start of every spring, I again put out where you can hear the game online, and where you won’t hear it.
Because I know I’ll get asked even though I no longer work there, here’s my annual reminder:
MLB does not allow @953WDAE to stream #Rays play-by-play, so you will not hear the game on their @iheartradio channel. The game is available through @mlbatbat and MLB (dot) TV.
— Steve Carney (@stevecarney) February 28, 2021
So Who Is Chris Ellis?
A third-round pick out of the University of Mississippi, Ellis was signed by the Rays to a minor-league deal on December 31. He started 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, but was not part of their 60-man player pool, and was released May 27. He has made one big league appearance in his career, working a scoreless inning on Opening Day of 2019 for the Kansas City Royals, who had taken him from St. Louis in the Rule 5 Draft the prior offseason. He was designated for assignment after the game, and returned to the Cardinals.
Pregame Comments
Manager Kevin Cash said over the weekend that infielder Mike Brosseau will get a chance to play all four infield positions, including shortstop, during the spring. Brosseau said today that because he played shortstop all the way through college at Oakland University, he feels that getting work in with third base coach Rodney Linares (who handles infield defensive work through the spring) will prepare him adequately.
Brosseau also mentioned one of the biggest names in the sport reached out to him after his big moment in the postseason.
#Rays Brosseau said among the people who reached out to him after his ALDS homer off #Yankees Chapman was #Phillies star Bryce Harper
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 28, 2021
Happy Birthday Randy
Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena celebrates his 26th birthday today by hitting second and playing right field. Cash joked pregame that the team would have hired a mariachi band to celebrate if it weren’t for the health and safety protocols in place.
The Rays manager also said that the plan for Arozarena is to use him in both corner outfield position this year, and he’ll even get some time playing center field during the spring.
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.
