. Charlie Morton (2-0) was pushed back a day and will start Saturday for Tampa Bay.The 31-year-old Smith, last in the major leagues with Oakland in 2017, was selected from Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday and right-hander reliever Travis Lakins was optioned to the International League team.Tampa Bay right-hander Tyler Glasnow (4-0) was pushed back to Sunday's series finale against left-hander Chris Sale, who is 0-4 with a 7.43 ERA in five starts.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: 2B Joey Wendle was placed on the 10-day IL after breaking his right wrist Wednesday against Kansas City. ''I've heard 6-8 weeks. It's going to be a while, and that's a very soft 6-8 weeks other than just a doctor quickly looking at it. We're still two days into it, but it stinks,'' manager Kevin Cash said. ... 1B Ji-Man Choi was scheduled to DH and bat third on Friday to help ease his lingering left calf tightness. ... RHP Hunter Wood remains away on the paternity list.Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee irritation) hit in the indoor cage before the game. ''Obviously the conditions are not going to let him do what he was scheduled to do on the field,'' manager Alex Cora said. ''Tomorrow hopefully he can get out there and take grounders and run outside and do all that.'' ... INF/OF Brock Holt (scratched right cornea) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment as the designated hitter with Pawtucket on Friday night.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rays, swept in Tampa, seek revenge in Boston The Tampa Bay Rays got swept at home by the Boston Red Sox last weekend, and they would love to even the score at Fenway Park this weekend, but it would help if they stopped losing players.The banged-up Rays have lost five of their last seven games after a 14-4 start. The rematch begins Friday night when Rays right-hander Charlie Morton takes the mound.Tampa Bay outfielder Austin Meadows injured his right thumb in the Boston series finale on Sunday and will be out until mid-May.In the Rays' 10-2 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday, second baseman Joey Wendle suffered a right wrist fracture when he was hit by a pitch. Wendle had just recovered from a hamstring strain."It's a long season, and you're going to have some ups and downs," manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. "It's a little tougher (now) because we just lost another guy. That stinks, but we'll continue to try to find ways to win games and overcome it." Wednesday's loss was one of only two that have been by more than one or two runs this season. Royals ace Blake Snell, who returned after missing a start with a fractured toe, lasted only 3 1/3 innings in taking the loss."We just need to be humbled a little bit because we can't go out there and think we're going to win each and every game just because we have a lot of talent," center fielder Kevin KierŽmaier told the Times. "No matter who you're playing in the big leagues, there's a lot of talent on the other side as well." Morton (2-0, 3.38 ERA) had not given up more than two earned runs in his first four starts with the Rays until Boston scored five runs in six innings on Saturday. The 35-year-old Morton wasn't entirely ineffective, as he also struck out a season-high nine.He's 3-1 with a 5.06 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.Boston left-hander David Price was originally scheduled to start Friday, but manager Alex Cora threw the Rays a curveball on Thursday, announcing that Price would start Saturday's game so he would pitch back-to-back with ace Chris Sale."I think that's the way we prefer it, feeling that they can go deep into games and can help us out bullpen-wise, so you keep them together and go from there," Cora said.Cora didn't name Friday's starter during his postgame press conference. It may be a moot point, since rain is in the forecast.Boston's offense has perked up in the last two games, scoring a combined 18 runs. Rookie second baseman Michael Chavis hit his second homer in just his third major league game on Thursday in a 7-3 win over Detroit.Right fielder Mookie Betts has recovered from a slow start with five multi-hit efforts in his last seven games. Not coincidentally, the Red Sox are 5-2 over that span. Betts has three doubles over the last two games"We know what we're capable of," Betts told MLB.com. "It's just a matter of doing it." --Field Level Media
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