GameDay Preview: Rays Turn to Jeffrey Springs to Close Out Series With Rangers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The best move the Tampa Bay Rays made all year was adding Jeffrey Springs to the starting rotation. After spending the first month in the bullpen, he's been lights out ever since, posting some great numbers.
He gets the start again on Sunday, facing his former team, the Texas Rangers, in the series finale at Tropicana Field. The game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Springs, who pitched for the Rangers in 2018 and 2019, said he knows several pitchers on the Texas team and he has a lot of respect for their lineup. They'll be a challenge as the Rays try to win the season series — it's tied at 3-3 right now — and get Tampa Bay another step closer to a playoff spot.
"They've got guys that can swing it throughout the lineup, but not a lot really changes for me from start to start,'' Springs said. "I'll try to keep them off-balance and keep them guessing, just like I always do.''
Springs is 8-4 with a nifty 2.41 earned run average, and he's coming off a terrific start at Toronto on Tuesday, where he pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. He felt fresh that day because he only pitched three innings in his previous start, which was by design to manage his innings. He's pitched a career-high 115 2/3 innings this year, which is a lot considering he's never thrown more than 44 2/3 innings in a season before.
"I feel good, and the staff has done a great job of managing the workload. I've had some short starts in there, and I've been careful between starts. I talk a lot to (Corey) Kluber (about work loads), and I've talked to Drew (Rasmussen) about it, too, because he went through this last year.''
Springs pitched out of the bullpen for Texas, and did the same for the Boston Red Sox in 2020. He was a reliever for the Rays as well last year, and started the season in the bullpen. With early injuries to Luis Patino and Ryan Yarbrough affecting the rotation, Springs was stretched out in late April, and he's been great ever since.
He's thrilled to be where he's at in his career now. And he loves how well he's treated with the Rays.
"It's part of the journey. Maybe if I hadn't been with those other teams, I wouldn't be where I am today,'' Springs said. "I think I threw 30-something pitches instead of 80 or 90 (two starts ago), and that's the staff here looking out for me. It was pretty beneficial. I know my legs felt better, bounced back a lot quicker (after Tuesday's start). It definitely made a difference.''
Here's how to watch Sunday 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 (63-82) at Tampa Bay Rays (81-64)
- When: 1:10 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 18
- 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 89
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-205 on the money line according to the Fanduel.com website line as of Sunday morning. The Rangers are at plus-172. The over/under is 7.
Projected starting lineups
- Texas Rangers: Marcus Semien 2B, Corey Seager SS, Nathaniel Lowe 1B, Adolis Garcia RF, Mark Mathias DH, Josh Jung 3B, Josh Smith LF, Sam Huff C, Bubba Thompson CF, Glenn Otto P.
- Tampa Bay Rays: Yandi Diaz 3B, Jonathan Aranda 2B, Manuel Margot RF, Harold Ramirez 1B, David Peralta LF, Christian Bethancourt C, Jose Siri CF, Ji-Man Choi DH, Taylor Walls SS, Shawn Armstrong P.
Projected pitchers
- GLENN OTTO, Texas Rangers: Glen Otto is a 26-year-old right-hander from Spring, Texas, and he's 6-8 with a 4.71 ERA this season. He's had issues with control all season, with 58 walks in 114 2/3 innings. He beat the Rays on May 30 in their first matchup of the season, allowing just one run in six innings in a 9-5 Texas win. He beat Drew Rasmussen that day.
- JEFFREY SPRINGS, Tampa Bay Rays: The best move the Rays have made all year was adding Jeffrey Springs to the starting rotation, because he's been terrific. He's 8-4 with a 2.41 earned run average, fourth best in the American League for pitchers over 115 innings. He was great on Tuesday when the Rays really needed him, pitching six scoreless innings and allowing just three hits in a critical 4-2 win over Toronto. They need him again on Sunday.
