First pitch is 4:10 PM ET at loanDepot park, and the pitching matchup is a mismatch on paper. McClanahan (6-2, 2.45) draws Lake Bachar, who threw 49 pitches across 2.2 innings in his last outing — this is an opener/bulk script, not a true starter's day for Miami.
Friday was a bloodbath. Drew Rasmussen retired 21 of 22 Marlins in a 2-hit shutout while Junior Caminero reached base 5 times. Tampa Bay had dropped 3 straight to Detroit before that, so the road trip to Miami was the reset button they needed, and the bats picked the right night to wake up.
Injury-wise, the Rays are managing a Chandler Simpson scare — he left Friday's game in the 3rd with left thumb discomfort, his second early exit of the week after a helmet-to-mouth incident in Detroit required stitches. He's day-to-day. The bigger picture is the bullpen situation: Kimbrel just hit the 15-day IL with a wrist strain, Uceta had a setback and got a PRP injection, and Pepiot is done for the year after hip surgery. McClanahan needs to give length here.
- Day-To-DayChandler Simpson LF — Simpson was removed from Friday's game against the Marlins with left thumb discomfort, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- 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
- 10-Day-ILJonny DeLuca RF — DeLuca is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks after an MRI revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- 10-Day-ILJake Fraley RF — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Fraley (hernia) will require surgery and will face a recovery timeline of 6-to-8 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILJonathan Heasley RP — Heasley cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILCraig Kimbrel RP — The Rays placed Kimbrel on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right wrist strain.
- Day-To-DayThomas White SP — White was diagnosed with a left shoulder capsular sprain Friday and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Isaac Azout of FishOnFirst.com reports.
- Day-To-DayKemp Alderman RF — Triple-A Jacksonville placed Alderman on the 7-day injured list Tuesday due to a left wrist injury, Michael Germanese of Roundtable.io reports.
- 15-Day-ILJosh Ekness RP — Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Monday that Ekness is expected to miss approximately six weeks due to a right calf strain, Kyle Sielaff of Marlins.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILJanson Junk SP — The Marlins placed Junk on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to right shin bone inflammation, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILEury Perez SP — The Marlins placed Perez on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Thursday, due to a right gracilis strain.
- 60-Day-ILGriffin Conine LF — Conine (hamstring) appears to be a week or two away from beginning a rehab assignment, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi RP — The Marlins transferred Nardi (ribcage) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
- 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling SP — Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.
Miami's rotation is a triage unit. Eury Perez and Janson Junk are both on the 15-day IL, top prospect Thomas White was just diagnosed with a left shoulder capsular sprain that's expected to cost him the rest of the season, and Robby Snelling had internal brace surgery. Hence the Bachar opener. The Marlins were 3-1 against the Nationals coming into this series, but lining up bullpen innings against a Rays lineup that just hung 6 on you the night before is a tough ask.
The market sees it the same way. Pinnacle has the Rays at -123 on the moneyline with a -1.5 runline at +135 and the total at 7.5. The fair-probability split is 54-46 Tampa. If McClanahan does what he's been doing — 1 earned over 5 in his last start against the Angels — the under and the runline both come into play. Miami needs early traffic against him or this turns into another long afternoon.