Thursday's game against the Orioles was postponed due to rain. No makeup date was announced. Manager Joe Maddon said the Rays will keep their pitching rotation somewhat in order, with Andy Sonnanstine moving to Friday against the Yankees and Edwin Jackson pushed back to Saturday. That, though, could change again because rain is forecast all day Friday in New York as well. "Stay tuned,'' Maddon said.
As it stands now, James Shields will pitch Sunday, Jason Hammel on Monday and Matt Garza will start Tuesday's home opener.
Maddon had talked about keeping Shields and Garza back to back, but they didn't want to keep Hammel out of action that long. Plus, they could be creating a nice spot to drop in Scott Kazmir when he returns, dropping their ace lefty between their two top righthanders.
Having already had a-day-and-a-half from Monday's opener until Wednesday's night game, the Rays were eager to play. "You don't want more days off right now,'' Maddon said.
Also, reliever Grant Balfour accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Durham.
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