GameDay Preview: Luis Patino Called Up to Pitch Monday's Game vs. Red Sox

The Tampa Bay Rays are turning to 22-year-old Luis Patino for a huge series-opening game with the Boston Red Sox on Monday. He's been called up to make the start in place of Shane McClanahan, who is out briefly with a shoulder injury.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Luis Patino returned to St. Petersburg on Sunday, ready to lend a hand — and an arm — in the Tampa Bay Rays' playoff chase.

Patino, the hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander, was called up from Triple-A Durham and activated on Monday. He's start against the Boston Red Sox in the Monday afternoon game, which starts at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Patino has been up and down three times now. He struggled early after missing three months with a left oblique strain suffered on April 11 in the first inning of his first start. He made two starts in July when he returned, but wasn't effective. Then on Aug. 18, they called him up again, and he was great, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 7-1 over the Kansas City Royals.

With Shane McClanahan (shoulder) down for a few weeks, the Rays are turning to Patino on Monday in the first of three games against the Boston Red Sox. He'll face Michael Wacha, the former Rays pitcher who is 10-1 this season.

"I think he's getting close and we like what he's done in Triple-A, and we certainly liked what he did for us in his last start,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We're fortunate to have a guy as good as he is — and as good as he can be — to come up and fill a void of not having Shane.

"The strike-throwing intent, that was important. We needed him to go deep in the game, and he was outstanding.''

Luis Patino threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his last start for Tampa Bay. He goes again on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. (USA TODAY Sports)

There's a very good chance that Patino could be sent right back down after Monday's start, simply to keep enough arms fresh in the bullpen. Matt Wisler was designated for assignment to make room for Patino on Monday, and they might need another bullpen arm going forward.

"I think we're going to have to factor in the bullpen roster spot, but with Luis, we know he's going to be part of our mix,'' Cash said.

If he stays, Shawn Armstrong and Ryan Yarbrough could become more of the bullpen mix. The Rays are still hopeful that McClahahan will be back soon. He played catch again Monday.

Here's how to watch Monday's game, with TV information, the starting lineups, pitching bios and a lot of newsy nuggets:

How to watch Red Sox at Rays

• Who: Boston Red Sox (67-68) at Tampa Bay Rays (74-58)
• When: 4:10 p.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 5
• Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• TV: Bally Sports Sun
• Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
• Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 89
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-112 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website line as of Monday morning. The Red Sox are at plus-104. The over/under is 7.5.

Projected starting lineups

• Boston Red Sox: Tommy Phan DH, Alex Verdugo RF, Xander Bogaerts SS, Rafael Devers 3B, Trevor Story 2B, Triston Casas 1B, Kike Hernandez CF, Franchy Cordero LF, Kevin Plawecki C, Michael Wacha P.
• Tampa Bay Rays: Manuel Margot DH, Randy Arozarena RF, David Peralta LF, Harold Ramirez 1B, Isaac Paredes 3B, Christian Bethancourt C, Taylor Walls SS, Yu Chang 2B, Jose Siri CF, Luis Patino P.

Projected starting pitchers

• MICHAEL WACHA, Boston Red Sox: Michael Wacha has been one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox this season. Wacha, who is in his 10th season in the majors, pitched for the Rays a year ago but was just 3-5 with a 5.05. He found something in the offseason, though, as is 10-1 for the Red Sox with a 2.56 ERA. He's 2-0 against the Rays so far this season. winning 4-3 on April 22 in St. Petersburg and again on Aug. 26 in Boston.
• Tampa Bay Rays: Luis Patino is a 22-year-old Colombian who is 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA so far this season with Tampa Bay. He started 15 games a year ago and was 5-3 with a 4.31 ERA.

Newsy nuggets

• WISLER DESIGNATED: Rays manager Kevin Cash said it was a tough decision to designate Matt Wisler for assignment on Monday to make room for Patino. The right-handed reliever, who will turn 30 next week, did some good things for the Rays. He appeared in 44 games this year, and was 3-3 with a nifty 2.25 ERA. "That stunk,'' Cash said. "Wis has done a lot of good things since we acquired him, has been a really good pitcher for us. We know he's a major-league pitcher.''
• FRANCO UPDATE: Rays shortstop Wander Franco (hamate injury) is back on the field. He was the designated hitter for Triple-A Durham on Sunday night and had two hits in five at-bats. He is scheduled to play shortstop for them on Monday night and could be back with the Rays in the next week or so.
• DIAZ OFF DAY: Rays third baseman Yandy Diaz, at the center of a mini-controversy on Sunday when he complained about a game-ending strike call, is not in the lineup on Monday. Cash said it was his call, just trying to find a day to get him off his feet and keep him fresh. Diaz has played in 119 games this season, second-most on the team behind Randy Arozarena (127). He's played in 11 straight games and has been hot. He had seven multi-hit games during that stretch.
• STREAKING RAYS: The Rays have won five straight games heading into Sunday, one shy of a season high. They have won six straight games on two occasions, from May 2-7 (Oakland, Seattle) and Aug. 20-25 (Kansas City/Los Angeles Angels.
• RED SOX RIVALRY: The Rays are 9-4 against the Red Sox this season, and are 6-1 against them at Tropicana Field, with the only loss coming against Wacha in April. A win on Monday would clinch the season series for the fourth straight year, which is already a club record

Watch Kevin Cash's pregame press conference