It rained the Rays-Royals, and will play two on Saturday

Kansas City – The Rays get an extra day at the All-Star break.

Friday’s game against the Royals was postponed due to heavy rain, high winds, and the possibility of a hail drop, and was rescheduled as the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Tyler Glasnow will air the Rays’ opener, which starts at 2:10 Tampa Bay Time. For the night contest, scheduled for 7:10, Cooper Criswell, who was added to the roster as the 27th man, will start or provide collegiate runs, depending on bullpen usage in Game One. The Royals will start calling Alec Mars and 27th man Cole Ragans, who is left-handed.

The doubleheader would cause more confusion, as the Rays now had 10 games in the nine days of the break. Plans were still being finalized, but they tended to push out the rest of the starters one day.

Under that plan, Zac Evelyn will face the Royals on Sunday, with Shane McClanahan returning from the injured list, which has now been pushed back to the series opener on Monday in Texas. Rookie Taj Bradley will work Tuesday, with the Rays hesitant on Wednesday. This would be the Yonny Chirinos turn, but it didn’t fare well and Christmas Day could be an option.

Glasnow had to leave his previous start on July 8 in the sixth inning due to cramps in his hands and legs, and saw a vascular specialist for testing during the break. Manager Kevin Cash said he did not expect any problems on Saturday.

“I expect it to be totally fine,” said Cash. “Excited to have him play. I know he works by trying to figure out what problems he has and go from there.”

The Rays don’t yet have a set date for the return of first-team All-Star captain Yandy Diaz, who was placed on the paternity list Friday after the birth of his son Wednesday. He will likely miss the full series in Kansas City.

nibbling at their heels

After losing seven straight before winning the final game before breaking last Sunday, the Rays started Saturday play just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles in the American League East race with just 8 1/2 games ahead of last place. Red Sox and Yankees.

“I think everyone enjoyed the All-Star break. Everyone had to kind of relax, go home, recharge a little bit,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe. “But to get off to a good start, it’s kind of a necessity at this point. You look around the league, especially in the east, and every team you see out there knocks on the door.

“So just get out there and don’t put too much pressure on ourselves to perform the way we’ve been, just know that if we go out there and play our game, stay inside ourselves, we’ll do what we’ve been doing.”

And now to Pete with the weather

The Rays players were unaware of the severity of the incoming storm until they got to Kauffman Stadium for work before the game and reliever Pete Fairbanks—born in Milwaukee, raised in Missouri—filled in for them.

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“Nobody knew until we got here and Pete was telling us all about this Midwest weather that he knew a lot,” Lowe said. Pete told us it might not look good. And then we hear what might come up and say, ‘Oh, we might get an extra day on our break.'”

“But everyone’s still showing up. Everyone’s dressed up. Everyone’s in the weight room. The pitchers got down there (on the field) early. The hitters are doing their job now. The game’s off, but there’s still a day in the yard work.”

Varieties

Outfielder Ben Gamel, who hit . 276 with eight homers, 31 RBI and . 865 OPS in 59 games for Triple-A Durham, was traded to the Padres for cash considerations. … Reliever Andrew Kittredge, who will be rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery in June 2022, and is set to participate in his last round of rehab at the Florida Complex League Saturday before joining Durham. … Adrian Santana, the 31st pick in the draft, is signed to the Miami prep area for $2,002,950 per mlb.com, which is about $600,000 under slot value,

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