The Tampa Bay Rays will look to get off to a better start than they did in Tuesday evening’s opener as they take on the Washington Nationals in the finale of a two-game series. Drew Rasmussen (0-1, 3.48 ERA) will begin things fr Tampa Bay, taking on Jon Lester (1-3, 4.99 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:05.
Rays Starting Lineup
Margot RF
Arozarena LF
Franco SS
Diaz 3B
Choi 1B
Zunino C
Kiermaier CF
Brosseau 2B
Rasmussen P
Nationals Starting Lineup
Schwarber LF
Turner SS
Soto RF
Bell 1B
Gomes C
Castro 3B
Parra CF
Mercer 2B
Lester P
Two Rays Named To Futures Game Rosters
While no Rays big leaguers were finalists for All-Star Game voting, a pair of Rays minor leaguers were selected to play in the MLB Futures Game.
Both pitcher Shane Baz and infielder Vidal Brujan will represent thr American League on the 25-man roster for the game, which will take place on July 11.
Brujan has spent all season with Triple-A Durham, and is hitting .254/.340/.480 with nine home runs, 26 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Baz started the season at Double-A Montgomery, amking seven starts before being promoted to Durham. He is currently 3-4 with a 2.12 earned run average and 69 strikesouts in 46 2/3 innings pitched.
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.
