Tampa Bay is 24-12 and has won 11 of its last 12, including a sweep of the Blue Jays to close the homestand. The pitching has been borderline absurd — per the Toronto recap, the Rays hadn't allowed more than 3 runs in 12 straight games entering this trip, tying a franchise mark set in 2013.
The rotation is the only crack. Steven Matz hit the IL with an elbow issue and Mason Englert (forearm) is reportedly lined up to take that Friday turn in Boston, with Joe Boyle still on a Triple-A rehab assignment and Ryan Pepiot done for the year after hip surgery scheduled for May 13. That is a lot of arms to be juggling for a team this hot.
- Day-To-DayTJ Nichols P — Double-A Montgomery placed Nichols on its 7-day injured list April 7 due to an unspecified injury.
- Day-To-DayTre' Morgan 1B — Triple-A Durham activated Morgan (quadricep) from its 7-day injured list Tuesday.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- Day-To-DayKeyshawn Askew RP
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayTy Johnson SP
- Day-To-DayJohn Rooney RP — The Rays signed Rooney (elbow) to a minor-league contract Nov. 15.
- Day-To-DayLogan Driscoll C — The Rays released Driscoll (ankle) on Friday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayRanger Suarez SP — Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Friday that Suarez's (hamstring) next start will come next week "sometime in the Philly series," Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — The Red Sox placed Anthony (wrist) on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Tuesday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
- 15-Day-ILJustin Slaten RP — Slaten (oblique) allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning for Double-A Portland on Sunday.
- 15-Day-ILDanny Coulombe RP — The Red Sox placed Coulombe on the 15-day injured list Monday with cervical spasms.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) was able to play catch Sunday for the first time since landing on the injured list Wednesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 15-Day-ILKutter Crawford SP — Crawford has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow following an MRI, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas 1B — The Red Sox transferred Casas (abdomen/knee) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
On the other side, the Red Sox are 16-21 and stuck in the AL East basement, a long way from where the preseason hype shop had them filed. They'll counter with Jake Bennett, who has a tidy 1.80 ERA across his early work but a 1.40 WHIP that suggests the run prevention is doing some heavy lifting.
The market basically calls this a coin flip — Boston -108, Tampa Bay even money, total parked at 8. That feels low for a Rays team that just keeps grinding out 4-3 wins, but Fenway evens a lot of things out and the Sox are still favored at home for a reason.
Watch the Rays bullpen workload. If Englert is short and Tampa has to dip into a pen that's been carrying a heavy load through this stretch, the under on 8 stops looking so safe and Boston's lineup gets a real shot to break the streak.