How to Watch Thursday's Series Finale Between A's and Rays; Gametime, Lineups, Pregame Chatter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Working in an extra day of rest for his starting pitchers, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash is turning to Josh Fleming on Thursday to make a spot start.
Fleming, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen last Saturday, will get the start for the Rays in the series finale against the Oakland A's. The game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. Oakland has won two of the first three games so far.
The left-hander from Bridgeton, Mo., has started 16 games for the Rays since 2020, making 34 overall appearances. So starting is nothing new, and he's raring to go.
“I feel really good. The arm bounced back really well after the three-plus innings, and I feel good,'' he said. "Every pitch that I threw was doing what I was hoping it would do, and to me that’s a huge step forward. Last year, the cutter was a work in progress for me.
“Now I feel really confident in throwing it, whether it's to a righty or a lefty. I’ve always been a contact pitcher, and I think hitters will think of it more.''
Fleming feels like he is stretched out pretty well and will go as long as Cash lets him. He knows that the Rays' bullpen has had to cover a lot of innings so far this season.
“I’m not really sure how long I get to go, hopefully a lot to help out our bullpen,'' Fleming said. "I’m hoping to go at least five; that’s the goal. I’m glad they trust me to help them. I’m going to go out and pound the strike zone and let them hit it and let my defense do its thing.’’
Here's how to watch Wednesday's game, with gametime and TV information, the latest on the betting line, lineups, bios and some newsy nuggets:
How to watch Athletics vs. Rays
- Who: Oakland Athletics (3-3) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (4-2)
- When: 1:10 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 14
- Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- TV: Bally Sports Sun
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (in-game reporter).
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 175
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest Line: Tampa Bay is at minus-225 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Sunday morning. Oakland is plus-188. The over/under is 7.5.
Athletics-Rays history
- Athletics vs. Rays all-time series history: Oakland holds a 115-80 edge in the series dating back to 1998. The Rays are just 47-53 at Tropicana Field. Last year, Tampa Bay went 3-4. They split a series 2-2 in St. Petersburg from April 26-29, and the A's won two of three from May 7-9 in Oakland.
- Athletics vs. Rays last meeting: Oakland got a three-run homer from catcher Sean Murphy off of Rays starter Shane McClanahan, and got six-plus solid innings from starter Frankie Montas in a 4-2 win over the Rays. Tampa Bay had plenty of changes, but were just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Ji-Man Choi hit his second home run of the season.
Meet the Athletics-Rays managers
- Meet Athletics manager Mark Kotsay: Mark Kotsay is in his first season as a major-league manager. He played 17 seasons in the big leagues from 1997 to 2013, and was a first-round pick (ninth overall) of the Miami Marlins in the 1996 MLB Draft. He played with seven different teams, and has been an assistant coach with the A's since 2015. Kotsay is 3-3 this season.
- Meet Rays manager Kevin Cash: Kevin Cash is starting his eighth season as manager of the Rays. He has been named AL Manager of the Year each of the past two seasons. He has a 558-480 record with the Rays, and his .538 winning percent is the best in Rays history. He is the second-longest-tenured manager in baseball behind Cleveland's Terry Francona. Cash is 4-2 this season.
Projected starting pitchers
- Athletics left-hander Cole Irvin: Cole Irvin is making his second start for Oakland. He lost last Saturday at Philadelphia, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Phillies. Irvin gave up three home runs in the game. Irvin started 32 games last year for the A's, finishing with a 10-15 record.
- Rays left-hander Josh Fleming: Josh Fleming is making his first start of the season. He appeared in last Saturday's game, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief after replacing Drew Rasmussen. He allowed just three hits and picked up the win. He has started 16 games in his career for the Rays, and made 34 appearances. He has a 16-8 record, and a 4.44 career record.
Projected lineups
- Athletics lineup: Tony Kemp 2B, Chad Pinder LF, Sean Murphy DH, Spencer Neuse 1B, Billy McKinney RF, Elvis Andrus SS, Kevin Smith 3B, Austin Allen C, Christian Pache CF, Cole Irvin P.
- Rays lineup: Yandi Diaz 31B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez DH, Randy Arozarena, LF, Brandon Lowe 2B, Manny Margot RF, Mike Zunino C, Kevin Kiermaier CF, Tyler Walls 3B, Josh Fleming P.
Nuggets to know
- Nuggets to know, Part 1: The Rays continued shuffling their roster on for the fourth straight day, sending Justen Knight back to Durham after pitching two-plus innings on Wednesday night. They called up right-hander Phoenix Sanders, and he will be available for Thursday's game. If he gets in, he will be the 20th pitcher for the Rays on this homestand.
- Nuggets to know, Part 2: Following this seven-game homestand, the Rays will fly out to Chicago on Thursday for a week in the Windy City. They will play the White Sox on Friday night and then again on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. They will play three night games at Wrigley Field on Monday through Wednesday. The 13 straight games to open a season without a day off is the longest stretch in Rays franchise history.
- Nuggets to know, Part 3: The Rays are 4-2 through the first six games, and would love to get a fifth win before heading north. Starting 5-2 is rarified air for the Rays. They've started 5-2 just twice in team history, in 2017 and 2019.
- Nuggets to know, Part 4: The Rays' 80-115 record against the A's, good for just a .410 winning percentage, their worst record against an AL opponent.
