NEW YORK — Injuries continue to be an issue for the Rays.
The left shoulder/bicep issue that sidelined catcher Mike Zunino last week has not shown improvement with rest, and the Rays felt the need for further evaluation, sending him for an MRI exam with results expected Wednesday.
“Not overly concerning, but not turning the corner,” Cash said.
Of potential concern is that Zunino had been having tingling in his arm. When he went on the 10-day injured list Friday, Cash said the Rays were hoping rest would help and it would be “a shorter stint.”
There also could be an injury impacting a pitcher on the active roster.
Reliever Ralph Garza. Jr, who was optioned to Triple-A Durham after Friday’s game in Minneapolis, was flown to New York on Tuesday morning to join the team on the taxi squad.
“We’re just checking on some guys seeing how they’re feeling,” Cash said before the game. “No move as of right now.”
Infielders Wander Franco (quad strain) and Brandon Lowe (low back discomfort) continue to make progress — albeit slow, as planned — toward a return.
Cash said there was no timeframe for either. Based on their limited activities to this point, it seems likely to be close to the end of the month at best.
Franco, out since May 31 and limited before that, started onfield agility drills Monday. “He did, and felt good,” Cash said. “(He will) continue to kind of check boxes throughout. But like I said when he got hurt, we’re hoping to kind of take the under just because of how young he is, how athletic he is, and he’s going to heal a little quicker than most.”
Lowe has been working with no setbacks through a progression of hitting drills from dry swings (with no balls) to hitting off a tee to taking swings at balls tossed to him.
Kluber on the mark
Corey Kluber took the loss, but he gave the Rays another strong start, holding the high-powered Yankees to four hits and the two unearned runs.
Cash said Kluber was “outstanding.” Manuel Margot, who made one of the outfield errors that led to the runs, said he was even more frustrated given how well the veteran right-hander was throwing. “We’ve got to give credit to him against a team that’s just so good,” Margot said via team interpreter Manny Navarro.
Kluber gave credit to catcher Francisco Mejia for calling a great game. “We did a good job of mixing things up, keeping them off balance,” he said. “Didn’t really fall into any patterns (Tuesday). And I think doing that, on top of kind of commanding the ball pretty well, it was a good formula.”
McClanahan ready for more
Shane McClanahan is set to start Wednesday, saying he feels good coming off Thursday’s outing, when he completed eight innings for the first time in his career at any level. “It was good,” he said. “I had an extra day of rest, so I took that and took it all in stride. I think I’m in a good spot.”
As for never pitching into the eighth inning in youth leagues, at Cape Coral High, at USF or in the minor leagues? McClanahan said he knows it sounds surprising: “I didn’t give myself the opportunity. I didn’t allow myself to get deep in games. And that’s ultimately all on me.”
Miscellany
Ji-Man Choi extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games. ... The Rays were shut out for the fourth time in their last 31 games and dropped to 2-7 in road-series openers, losing five straight. ... Infielder Taylor Walls said he was looking forward to playing in front of Yankee Stadium crowds now that all pandemic-related limits have been lifted: “That type of stuff excites me. Even if they’re not rooting for you, and they’re rooting against you, it’s still fun to hear the crowds’ engagement like that. It’ll be fun. As a player, I hope it it meets up to the hype that everybody brings it.”
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