Rays vs. Blue Jays
When/where: 7:10 tonight; Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
TV/radio: MLB Network; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Tickets: $17-$275, available at the stadium box office, Ticketmaster and raysbaseball.com.
Promotion: Postgame concert by Miranda Lambert
Starting pitchers:
Rays:
RH Jeff Niemann (11-7, 3.95)
Blue Jays:
LH Ricky Romero (15-10, 2.98)
Watch for …
Standing tall: Niemann, whose start was pushed back two days due to upper-back soreness, has won his past two outings. He is 4-3 with a 5.03 ERA in 10 career starts against the Blue Jays.
Leaning left: Romero has been on a good roll, having won seven of his past 10 outings, and is coming off a complete game in his last start, a no-decision against the Angels. He is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts this season against the Rays.
Key matchups
Blue Jays vs. Niemann
Jose Bautista3-for-17
Kelly Johnson2-for-6
Mark Teahen3-for-10, HR
Rays vs. Romero
Johnny Damon9-for-20, 3 HRs
Evan Longoria5-for-16
Kelly Shoppach0-for-12
On deck
Sunday: vs. Blue Jays, 1:40, Sun Sports. Rays — Wade Davis (10-10, 4.55); Blue Jays — Brett Cecil (4-10, 4.56)
Monday: vs. Yankees, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (15-12, 2.84); Yankees — TBA
Tuesday: vs. Yankees, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.90); Yankees — TBA
Joe Smith, Times staff writer
Honor of the day
RHP James Shields will be recognized in a pregame presentation today for his second consecutive Roberto Clemente Award nomination, recognizing a player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field.
Flashback of the day
Cheryl Tiegs, 64, one of America's first supermodels, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday. Rays manager Joe Maddon recalled his "Cheryl Tiegs Moment" happened in the late 1970s while he was a minor-leaguer in Salinas, Calif. The team was raffling off a poster of Tiegs in a pink bikini, an iconic 1970s pop culture image, and Maddon's No. 20 was called. "I run from the bullpen, up the steps to the press box during the game and got my Cheryl Tiegs poster. So No. 20 was a lucky number. (The poster) was on the wall for many years."
Loading...