GameDay Preview: Aranda Hitting Leadoff for First Time in Saturday Game vs. Rangers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jonathan Aranda hasn't missed a beat in the batter's box since getting called up to the big leagues for the second time. After hitting .318 with 18 homers in Triple-A Durham, he's batting .343 for the Rays, and hit his first career major-league homer earlier this week in Toronto.
On Saturday, he'll enjoy another first. He's batting leadoff for the first time for the Rays, and he can't recall batting leadoff before at any level. He thinks he has, but he couldn't remember with any certainty when or where they might have been.
Rays manager Kevin Cash got every one of his left-handed hitters into the lineup against Texas starter Jon Gray, and that starts with Aranda.
A first — batting first.
"Gray is a good pitcher who's really tough on righties,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We wanted to load up on lefties and get Johnny in there. I like the way he has swung the bat and we'll see if we can get him a couple of cracks (at Gray). He's coming off injury, so I don't know how long he'll be out there.
"He's had some very good at-bats, very professional at-bats. It's tough doing what he's doing right now, because he's not getting at-bats every day like he did in Durham. But he's been very good for us.''
Aranda, the 24-year-old Mexican native, is also starting at third base for the first time with the Rays and Yandy Diaz gets a rest. He played there often in Durham, but has only played at first and second base with the Rays, along with designated hitter.
"I was very surprised when I saw that I was leading off, because I can't remember the last time I did it,'' Aranda said through interpreter Manny Navarro. "But it doesn't change the mentality. You try not to change much, but you want to get on base and let the other guys bring you in.''
Here's how to watch Saturday night's game, with TV information, starting lineups, pitching bios and a ton of newsy nuggets:
How to watch Rangers at Rays
- Who: Texas Rangers (63-81) at Tampa Bay Rays (80-64)
- When: 6:10 p.m. ET, Saturday, Sept. 17
- Where: Tropicana Field
- TV: Bally Sports Sun
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Ryan Bass (reporter).
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 182
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored in the first game at minus-144 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website line as of Friday morning. The Rangers are at plus-122. The over/under is 7.
Projected starting lineups
- Texas Rangers: Marcus Semien 2B, Corey Seager SS, Nathaniel Lowe 1B, Adolis Garcia RF, Jonah Heim C, Josh Jung 3B, Kole Calhoun DH, Leody Taveras CF, Bubba Thompson LF, Jon Gray P.
- Tampa Bay Rays: Jonathan Aranda 3B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez 1B, David Peralta LF, Manuel Margot RF, Francisco Mejia C, Ji-Man Choi DH, Taylor Walls 2B, Jose Siri CF, Shawn Armstrong P.
Projected pitchers
- JON GRAY, Texas Rangers: Jon Gray, a 30-year-old from Shawnee, Okla., is 7-6 with a 3.79 ERA. He's coming off a left oblique strain where he missed six weeks, and made his first start post-injured list on Monday at Miami. He pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up one run and three hits, throwing just 45 pitches. An interesting stat on Gray: This is his 21st start of the season, and 15 of them have been on the road.
- SHAWN ARMSTRONG, Tampa Bay Rays: Shawn Armstrong is filling the Rays' ''opener'' role for the third time this season. For the season, he's 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA, coming over to the Rays in May after starting the season in Miami. He's done a very good job in that role, done a very good job really in every role,'' Cash said.
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.