Rays Gameday (Saturday): Jonny DeLuca 'Excited' To Be Back in Rays' Lineup

Tampa Bay center fielder Jonny DeLuca has missed nearly four months with a shoulder injury, but he's back in the lineup Saturday when the Rays take on the Cincinnati Reds. Here's his story, plus lineups and pitching nuggets.

Tampa Bay outfielder Jonny DeLuca (21) is back in the lineup for the Rays on Saturday night in Cincinnati. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The season was just nine days old when Tampa Bay center fielder Jonny DeLuca strained his right shoulder. He was put on the 10-day injured list on April 7, and the thought at the time was that he wouldn't be out long.

But now here we are, nearly fourth months later, and DeLuca is finally back in the Rays lineup. After multiple setbacks, he was finally activated and is in the starting lineup on Saturday night when the Rays take on left-hander Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.13 ERA) and the Cincinnati Reds. He's batting eighth and playing center field.

"To be completely honest, it's been really frustrating with all the setbacks and the confusion in trying to figure things out,'' DeLuca said Saturday afternoon in the Rays' clubhouse and Great American Ball Park. "But that's all in the past and I'm super happy to be back and hopefully be able to contribute to this team.

"We're in a spot where we want to win and make the playoffs, and I want to do everything I can to help this team win. My body feels good, so I'm excited. I've missed enough time, so I told (Rays manager Kevin) Cash that I was ready to contribute.''

The Rays have been short a right-handed bat in the outfield basically all year with DeLuca and Richie Palacios barely playing. Chandler Simpson, a lefty, has played most of the time in center field, and switch-hitter Jake Mangum always plays against lefties. DeLuca's return gives Cash another option, which will come in handy Saturday night against the All-Star Abbott, who is 8-1 and one of the best lefties in the National League.

"I'm excited for his defense, and I'm excited to have his right-handed bat,'' Cash said. "We haven't always had the best answer against left-handed starters, so hopefully adding another right-handed bat will help us.

"(Abbott) has been on a really good run and he's an All-Star for a good reason. He's committed to the strike zone, so we need to go up there and be mindful and be ready to hit.''

The Reds won the opener 7-2 on Friday night. Here's how to watch Saturday night's game.

How to Watch Rays vs. Reds

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (53-51) at Cincinnati Reds (54-50)
• When: Saturday, July 26 at 6:40 p.m. ET.
• Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: The Red are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-125, and the Rays' money line odds are plus-105. On the run line, you can bet the Reds minus-1.5 at plus-140 odds, and the Rays plus-1.5 runs at minus-185 odds. The over/under is 9.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Rays Batting Order

1. Yandy Diaz DH
2. Christopher Morel LF
3. Junior Caminero 3B
4. Jonathan Aranda 1B
5. Jake Mangum RF
6. Danny Jansen C
7. Jose Caballero 2B
8. Jonny DeLuca CF
9. Taylor Walls SS

Reds Batting Order

1. TJ Friedl CF
2. Matt McLain 2B
3. Elly De La Cruz SS
4. Austin Hays LF
5. Gavin Lux DH
6. Tyler Stephenson C
7. Spencer Steer 1B
8. Jake Fraley RF
9. Noelvi Marte 3B

Starting pitchers

• RYAN PEPIOT, Tampa Bay Rays: Ryan Pepiot is 6-8 with a 3.59 earned run average. ... The 27-year-old right-hander from Indianapolis is making his team-high 22nd start of the season. It's the first time he's ever started against the Reds. ... Pepiot is just 1-4 in eight road starts, with his only win coming in San Diego way back on April 26. The Rays have lost his last seven road starts ... Pepiot allowed a season-high three home runs in his last start on Sunday in Tampa against the Baltimore Orioles. ... Left-handers have struggled against Pepiot all year. They're hitting just .184 against him, the third-best mark in baseball behind Philadelphia's Zach Wheeler (.172) and Houston's Hunter Brown (.183).

• ANDREW ABBOTT, Cincinnati Reds: Andrew Abbott is 8-1 with a 2.13 earned run average, second-best in baseball behind Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes (1.91). ... The 26-year-old right-hander from Lynchburg, Va. lost his only decision way back on June 4 vs. Milwaukee. He gave up a season-high five runs that day. ... The Reds are 12-5 in his 17 starts. ... Abbott made his first All-Star team this year. He pitched a perfect sixth inning for the National League, getting Jazz Chisholm (New York) on a lineout, Riley Greene (Detroit) on a flyout and Randy Arozarena (Seattle, former Tampa Bay) on a groundout.