• Principal owner Stuart Sternberg had plenty of good to say about the team, mentioning Avisail Garcia, Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz and the pitching staff (especially Charlie Morton and Blake Snell) on the plus side but wanting to see more from Daniel Robertson and Willy Adames on the other.
• Yonny Chirinos made another pitch for an expanded role, coming in after opener Ryne Stanek and working 4u2154 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, striking out two. With Tyler Glasnow out and few off-days, Chirinos seems likely to be used as a traditional starter.
• It’s a big weekend for the Rays, and not just on the field, as they also made it their annual sponsors trip, treating 40 or so representatives of their main business supporters to two games, a tour of MLB Network’s studios and some other activities, with team president Brian Auld on the trip, too.