Tampa Bay opens a 3-game set with Miami on Friday night, and the gap between these two rosters is starting to look like a canyon. The Rays own the best record in the AL, the Marlins are 20-24 and just got 7 shutout innings dropped on them by Zebby Matthews in Minnesota. Momentum is not exactly even here.
The Rays' hot start isn't smoke. They're back at Tropicana Field for the first time since Hurricane Milton chased them across the bay to Steinbrenner Field for all of 2025, and the pitching staff has been suffocating — 3 runs or fewer allowed in 15 of their last 16 entering this stretch. Kevin Cash credits the return to normalcy. Whatever it is, it's working.
Miami's problem is offense. The Marlins rank near the bottom of the league in homers (29) and slugging (.371), and Jakob Marsee — supposedly a building block in center — has been the face of the slow start. A lineup that gets neutralized by quality pitching is a tough draw against a Rays staff that's been the AL's best at doing exactly that.
On paper this is a coin flip on the mound. Janson Junk has a 3.25 ERA and a 2-3 record, though only 2 of his 8 starts have come on the road, so there's a sample-size asterisk hanging on him at the Trop. Jesse Scholtens (3-2, 3.29) doesn't blow anyone away — he's a command-and-sequencing guy who lives off pitch design more than raw stuff. Should be a game where the first team to make a mistake pays for it.
- 10-Day-ILGriffin Conine LF — Conine will undergo a left hamstring tendon excision next week, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILRobby Snelling SP — Snelling is slated to start Thursday's game against the Twins at Target Field.
- 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez RP — The Marlins placed Henriquez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.
- 60-Day-ILAdam Mazur SP — The Marlins placed Mazur (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
- OutJesus Tinoco RP — The Marlins re-signed Tinoco (elbow) to a minor-league contract Jan. 5.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayLogan Driscoll C — The Rays released Driscoll (ankle) on Friday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayKeyshawn Askew RP — no
- Day-To-DayTre' Morgan 1B — Triple-A Durham placed Morgan on the 7-day injured list with a quad injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- Day-To-DayTJ Nichols P — Double-A Montgomery placed Nichols on its 7-day injured list April 7 due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILGavin Lux LF — The Rays pulled Lux (shoulder/ankle) off his rehab assignment Tuesday due to a left shoulder injury, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILJoe Boyle SP — Boyle (elbow) struck out four over two scoreless innings in his first rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Durham.
The injury ledger tilts hard toward Tampa Bay in volume — Ryan Pepiot is done for the season after hip surgery, Steven Matz and Joe Boyle are on the 15-day, Gavin Lux got pulled off his rehab assignment. The Rays are winning anyway, which is the scariest part of all this for the rest of the AL. Miami needs to steal one early in this series before that becomes 29-14.
Pinnacle has the Rays at -124 with the total at 8. Tough spot for the Marlins, but Junk's been fine and Scholtens is beatable if Miami's bats wake up. If they don't, this could get ugly fast.