Rays report: Randy Arozarena hitting 1st, Kevin Kiermaier 4th vs. Cardinals
ST. PETERSBURG — Stopping short of calling it “a shakeup,” Rays manager Kevin Cash at the least stirred the Rays’ batting order for tonight’s series opener against St. Louis, moving former Cardinal Randy Arozarena to leadoff and Kevin Kiermaier to the cleanup spot.
In giving Yandy Diaz a day off, the Rays also moved Ji-Man Choi to second and Manuel Margot to third.
“Trying to find that blend to the lineup that slots guys in spots where they’re coming up at the right time,” Cash said. “We’ve certainly talked about the issues offensively and I don’t like to say ‘a shakeup’ but just looking for different slots and seeing if it’ll allow us to to get a little bit more productive top to bottom.”
Arozarena has made very clear how excited he is to show his former team what they lost out on trading him to the Rays in January 2020, so Cash figured he’d give him plenty of opportunity, leading off against right-hander Dakota Hudson.
“This is a good team,” Cash said of the Cardinals. “It’s a very exciting team to play (that) we don’t play a lot. I’m sure Randy’s as excited as anybody just given that he was a former Cardinal, and I’m guessing he wants to do well so he’ll get as many chances as anybody being at the top.”
Kiermaier batted cleanup once before, in the first game of a July 2018 doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, though he had to be reminded of that. He joked that he did some “extra bicep curls” to be ready for the cleanup role, though it should be pointed out he shares the team home run lead with six.
The Cardinals have a veteran roster, led by Albert Pujols (who was of interest to the Rays in the 1999 draft) and Yadier Molina, but haven’t played at the Trop since 2014, so some of their players will be getting their first experience with the roof and catwalks.
The Rays are starting lefty Jeffrey Springs, who has been solid since moving into the rotation last month.
Here is the Rays lineup:
And for the Cardinals:
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