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MIAMI — The Rays were without rookie catalyst Chandler Simpson Sunday but hope to have him back in the lineup soon, potentially for Monday’s game against Houston.
Simpson left Saturday’s game against the Marlins after a ninth-inning collision, and he and the Rays said afterward the only damage appeared to be to his nose and upper lip. They were still bloodied and bruised a day later from what the speedy outfielder described as having “face-planted.”
Manager Kevin Cash said after Saturday’s game that Simpson would play the next day. But Simpson woke Sunday with soreness in his right hand, enough that it was an issue while trying to hit.
“As the night went on it kind of just got more stiff, and then kind of woke up (Sunday) morning and it was sore,” Simpson said. “Tried to get grip the bat, take a couple swings and it kind of fell off, so didn’t want to push it.”
Simpson had the hand wrapped and iced before Sunday’s game and said he was hopeful that and other treatment from the athletic training staff would help. He said he felt better after the game.
X-rays were negative, Cash said, and the Rays will reevaluate Simpson’s status before Monday’s game.
Simpson was 5-for-7 in the first two games of the series and 11-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak. In 25 games since his April 19 debut, he has a .301 average (including 12 infield hits) with 15 runs scored, nine RBIs and nine steals.
The Astros series will provide a reunion with Isaac Paredes, the 2024 All-Star third baseman with a proclivity for hitting homers to leftfield — and only to left.
Paredes was traded from the Rays to the Cubs (for Christopher Morel, Hunter Bigge and minor-league pitcher Ty Johnson) at last year’s July deadline and then again in December to the Astros (with Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski for star Kyle Tucker).
“A heck of a player for us,” Cash said of Paredes. “Really good teammate. Worked hard. Got a lot of big hits for us. Had his niche for hitting the ball up in the air, right down the foul line. Hopefully, he can avoid doing that for three days.”
The Rays, as you may have read or heard, have struggled so far in their interim home of Steinbrenner Field. Their 11-17 home record is fourth worst in the majors, behind only the Rockies, Orioles and A’s.
It’s also in stark contrast to their 10-8 road record. The Rays and A’s — who also are playing in a minor-league stadium in Sacramento — are the only teams with winning road and losing home records.
With Monday’s game kicking off a stretch of 15 of their next 19 games at home, it’s going to be a topic of conversation until the Rays change the narrative.
“We’ve been asked a lot,” Monday starter Ryan Pepiot said. “Everybody’s asked it. It’s baseball, things are going to even out. I think the way we’ve played at home, wouldn’t necessarily say the record shows exactly how we played.”
Pepiot, for example, cited balls hit with weak contact by opponents that ended up scoring runs and well-struck shots by the Rays that ended up as outs. Similarly, plays that are or aren’t being made.
“Over the course of 162 games, there’s going to be plenty of those that happen against us,” he said. “And hopefully we can knock all those out at the beginning, and then we can just start getting on a roll.”
The Rays have alternated wins and losses over eight straight games. ... The Rays hadn’t lost a series to the Marlins since 2018, when they lost two, home and road.
• • •
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Simpson left Saturday’s game against the Marlins after a ninth-inning collision, and he and the Rays said afterward the only damage appeared to be to his nose and upper lip. They were still bloodied and bruised a day later from what the speedy outfielder described as having “face-planted.”
Manager Kevin Cash said after Saturday’s game that Simpson would play the next day. But Simpson woke Sunday with soreness in his right hand, enough that it was an issue while trying to hit.
“As the night went on it kind of just got more stiff, and then kind of woke up (Sunday) morning and it was sore,” Simpson said. “Tried to get grip the bat, take a couple swings and it kind of fell off, so didn’t want to push it.”
Simpson had the hand wrapped and iced before Sunday’s game and said he was hopeful that and other treatment from the athletic training staff would help. He said he felt better after the game.
X-rays were negative, Cash said, and the Rays will reevaluate Simpson’s status before Monday’s game.
Simpson was 5-for-7 in the first two games of the series and 11-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak. In 25 games since his April 19 debut, he has a .301 average (including 12 infield hits) with 15 runs scored, nine RBIs and nine steals.
Hey, you look familiar
The Astros series will provide a reunion with Isaac Paredes, the 2024 All-Star third baseman with a proclivity for hitting homers to leftfield — and only to left.
Paredes was traded from the Rays to the Cubs (for Christopher Morel, Hunter Bigge and minor-league pitcher Ty Johnson) at last year’s July deadline and then again in December to the Astros (with Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski for star Kyle Tucker).
“A heck of a player for us,” Cash said of Paredes. “Really good teammate. Worked hard. Got a lot of big hits for us. Had his niche for hitting the ball up in the air, right down the foul line. Hopefully, he can avoid doing that for three days.”
Home blues
The Rays, as you may have read or heard, have struggled so far in their interim home of Steinbrenner Field. Their 11-17 home record is fourth worst in the majors, behind only the Rockies, Orioles and A’s.
It’s also in stark contrast to their 10-8 road record. The Rays and A’s — who also are playing in a minor-league stadium in Sacramento — are the only teams with winning road and losing home records.
With Monday’s game kicking off a stretch of 15 of their next 19 games at home, it’s going to be a topic of conversation until the Rays change the narrative.
“We’ve been asked a lot,” Monday starter Ryan Pepiot said. “Everybody’s asked it. It’s baseball, things are going to even out. I think the way we’ve played at home, wouldn’t necessarily say the record shows exactly how we played.”
Pepiot, for example, cited balls hit with weak contact by opponents that ended up scoring runs and well-struck shots by the Rays that ended up as outs. Similarly, plays that are or aren’t being made.
“Over the course of 162 games, there’s going to be plenty of those that happen against us,” he said. “And hopefully we can knock all those out at the beginning, and then we can just start getting on a roll.”
Miscellany
The Rays have alternated wins and losses over eight straight games. ... The Rays hadn’t lost a series to the Marlins since 2018, when they lost two, home and road.
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.
Continue reading...
