The Rays have Friday off this week, which is about as odd as it seems.
It’s part of a recent Major League Baseball scheduling change, allowing teams who are hosting two-game series — usually against division rivals or interleague opponents — to try to boost attendance by playing on Saturday and Sunday rather than the usual mid-week slots. There are five other such series on the schedule, including St. Louis at Oakland this weekend.
The Rays host the Marlins Saturday and Sunday.
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Still, it’s weird.
“That’s odd," manager Kevin Cash said. “I don’t think I’ve ever have had a Friday off."
Actually, the Rays did last year, but under unusual circumstance: They were playing the Red Sox in their home opener on a Thursday, and Friday was kept open in case there was a weather postponement. (It snowed on Friday, as it turned out, Cash noting, “we weren’t playing anyways.")
The only other time in 22 seasons the Rays were off on a Friday came in even odder situations. In 2004 they opened the season playing two regular-seasons games in Japan against the Yankees, then came out and Thursday and Friday off before resuming play with an exhibition game on Saturday, then got back to regular-season play.