Inside The Rays

New Weather-Related Start Times For Rays in First June Homestand

As we roll into June, there is a new set of starting times for Tampa Bay Rays baseball games during this first homestand against the Texas Rangers and Miami Marlins. Here's the new schedule, with start times and TV information.
Tom Brew|
Milwaukee Brewers players wait out the first Tampa Bay rain delay on May 10 at Steinbrenner Field. The Rays have adjusted their June schedule. for weather.
Milwaukee Brewers players wait out the first Tampa Bay rain delay on May 10 at Steinbrenner Field. The Rays have adjusted their June schedule. for weather. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Rays

TAMPA, Fla. — The rain clouds are rolling in, and the thermometer is starting to burst at the seams. It's June in Florida now, and we all know the weather patterns.

So do the Tampa Bay Rays and Major League Baseball. And since the Rays had to move outdoors to Steinbrenner Field this season, they've prepared for the summer weather. We've seen the front-loaded home schedule, and now as we roll into June, the next step kicks in, too.

We'll see it in this first June homestand, which starts Tuesday night with three games against the Texas Rangers. The Rays have moved first pitch to 7:35 p.m., pushing things back to avoid rain and get closer to sunset.

There's also a curveball in the schedule this weekend during the three-game home series with the Miami Marlins. Friday's first game of the series is the first of three this season that had to be moved to accommodate events at Raymond James Stadium. There's a Metallica concert Friday night, so the Rays are playing their only Friday afternoon home game all year. And we'll see the first of the 12:10 p.m. ET Sunday starts as well, to beat the afternoon rains.

So adjust your calendars and recording schedules accordingly. Here's the full schedule for this week at Steinbrenner Field, with projected starting pitchers, start times and — thankfully, easy to remember — TV information.

Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays

  • Tuesday, June 3: Texas Rangers (Tyler Mahle) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Drew Rasmussen), 7:35 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network.
  • Wednesday, June 4: Texas Rangers (Kumar Rocker) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Shane Baz), 7:35 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network.
  • Thursday, June 5: Texas Rangers (Jack Leiter) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Ryan Pepiot), 7:35 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network.

Miami Marlins vs. Tampa Bay Rays

  • Friday, June 6: Miami Marlins (Edward Cabrera) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Zack Littell), 1:10 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network.
  • Saturday, June 7: Miami Marlins (Ryan Weathers) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Taj Bradley), 4:10 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network. Note: Evan Longoria is throwing out the first pitch on his official retirement day.
  • Sunday, June 8: Miami Marlins (Max Meyer) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Drew Rasmussen), 12:10 p.m. ET. TV: FanDuel Sports Network.

The Rays have played 37 of their 81 home games already, and will be past the halfway mark already this season. They are 18-19 at home, but have won nine of their past 12 at Steinbrenner Field. They had two series — against the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins — that were supposed to be played in the middle of the summer, but were moved to earlier in the season to avoid the weather.

So the Rays will spend a lot of time on the road after Sunday. They will play 22 of their next 32 games on the road leading up to the All-Star break on July 14.

Related Rays stories

  • TOM BREW COLUMN: Home plate umpire Nic Lentz missed a call and Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls didn't like it. And then he went too far and got thrown out of the game, which led to great theatrics. Walls was wrong, though, and went too far. Here is "Tampa Bay Rays on SI" publisher Tom Brew's column CLICK HERE
  • HUNTER BROWN BLANKS RAYS (Sunday): It was a weird series for Tampa Bay Rays, who lost 1-0 Sunday, only getting two hits despite scoring 29 runs in two wins against the Houston Astros. They wasted a terrific performance by Taj Bradley, who only gave up one unearned run in seven innings. CLICK HERE
  • RAYS CRUSH ASTROS 16-3 (Saturday): Zack Littell pitched Tampa Bay's first complete game since 2021 and the Rays had season highs in home runs (5), hits (18) and runs (16) in a 16-3 blowout of the Houston Astros on Saturday. CLICK HERE
  • MANGUM HOMER A FAMILY AFFAIR: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jake Mangum waited a long time to make the big leagues, and the 29-year-old had a great first month before suffering a groin injury. He came back this weekend, and hit his first-ever MLB home run with his parents in the stands. It was a great family moment. CLICK HERE
  • FRAMBER VALDEZ DOMINATES RAYS (Friday): Ryan Pepiot had his second straight scoreless start, but Houston rallied with a run in the eighth and a walk-off homer from catcher Yainer Diaz in the ninth for a 2-1. Framberr Valdez pitched a nasty 83-pitch complete game for Houston. CLICK HERE
  • CAMINERO HAS 6 RBIs IN ROUT (Thursday): The Tampa Bay Rays continued their winning ways on Thursday, exploding for five runs in both the seventh and eighth innings in a 13-3 rout of the Houston Astros. Junior Caminero had three hits and six RBIs for the Rays. CLICK HERE
  • KELLY REJOINS RAYS: Kevin Kelly has been a big part of the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen since 2023, and he's back with the team after spending six weeks on the injured list. He was activated on Thursday ahead of the series with the Houston Astros. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.

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