The Tampa Bay Rays will look to earn their fifht consecutive victory Friday night when they welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan (3-3, 4.18 ERA) will get the start, taking on Alek Manoah (2-0, 2.70 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
Rays Starting Lineup
Lowe DH
Choi 1B
Franco 3B
Meadows LF
Wendle 2B
Kiermaier CF
Walls SS
Zunino C
Phillips RF
Blue Jays Starting Lineup
Semien 2B
Bichette SS
Guerrero 1B
Springer CF
Hernandez LF
Grichuk RF
Gurriel DH
Biggio 3B
McGuire C
Archer, Drake Close To Going On Rehab, Thompson Shut Back Down
Manager Kevin Cash said that pitchers Chris Archer and Oliver Drake each pitched in a live batting practice session Wednesday at the team’s spring training facility in Port Charlotte, and could have one more live BP session before each goes out on a rehab assignment.
Archer has not pitched since April 10, when he left his start against the New York Yankees in the third inning with tightness in his right forearm, while Drake has yet to pitch in 2021 after undergoing a procedure to repair a flexor tendon issue in his elbow.
Cash said reliever Ryan Thompson, who is on the injured list after experiencing shoulder soreness, played catch for the first time on Thursday, but was still experiencing soreness, and so he will be shut down for an additional couple of days before playing catch again.
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.
