The Tampa Bay Rays have the opportunity to finish off a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers to begin the 2023 regular season after taking the first two games of the year on Thursday and Saturday. Jeffrey Springs (9-5, 2.46 ERA in 2022) gets the start, taking on Joey Wentz (2-2, 3.03 ERA in 2022). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10.
Rays Starting Lineup
Diaz 1B
Franco SS
Paredes 3B
Arozarena LF
Ramirez DH
Margot RF
Siri CF
Bethancourt C
Walls 2B
Tigers Starting Lineup
Vierling RF
Greene CF
Baez SS
Meadows LF
Torkelson 1B
Maton 3B
Cabrera DH
Schoop 2B
Rogers C
Lowe “good” to return Monday
Second baseman Brandon Lowe left Saturday’s win with a right big toe contusion after fouling a ball off his foot in the third inning. Lowe told me before Sunday’s game that he was “good,” while manager Kevin Cash said that while he would not be in the starting lineup, he should be available to pinch-hit, and is expected to be back in the starting lineup Monday when the Rays begin a three-game series in Washington against the Nationals.
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.
