CLEVELAND — Tonight the Rays kick off their season-ending road trip that they hope will lead to a playoff berth when they take on the AL Central champion Guardians, first pitch at 6:10.
For the seventh straight game, the Rays don’t have infielder Yandy Diaz in the lineup, as he remains sidelined with a sore left shoulder.
Diaz said he his feeling much better, took swings in the batting cage this afternoon, should be available to pinch hit tonight and expects to be in the lineup on Wednesday. Manager Kevin Cash said much the same.
They Rays declined initially to put Diaz on the injured list expecting a quick return. With such a move only able to be backdated three days, doing so now would have wasted the last week and be an indication that he likely won’t return before the end of the regular season.
Corey Kluber, who won two Cy Young awards while pitching for Cleveland during a nine-year run from 2011-2019, will be on the mound for the Rays, making his first start at Progressive Field as a visitor, weather permitting.
Rain fell much of the day in Cleveland and is expected to do so again, at times heavily, in the early evening. As of 5:15, the tarp was off and the game is expected to start on time.
Also:
• The Rays announced that the start of postseason ticket sales, originally slated for Friday, has been pushed back to Oct. 5 due to the impact of Hurricane Ian.
• Tyler Glasnow is set to start Wednesday, returning to the majors after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery on Aug. 4. 2021.
• Outfielder Roman Quinn, first sidelined in mid-August with a knee issue then bothered by a shoulder impingement, joined Triple-A Durham to start a rehab assignment. He could be a postseason roster consideration as a pinch-runner.
Here is the Rays lineup:
And for the Guardians:
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