Glasnow to start Game 1 of ALDS for Rays
TB to pitch Snell on Saturday in Game 2, Morton on Monday in Game 3
Rays manager Kevin Cash said right-hander Tyler Glasnow will get the start in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Astros at Minute Maid Park on Friday, after Tampa Bay defeated Oakland, 5-1, in the AL Wild Card Game on Wednesday night.
Glasnow missed four months of the season due to a right forearm strain, and the Rays have been easing him back in with pitch count limits since he came off the injured list in early September. He made four starts last month, giving up two runs in 12 1/3 innings (1.46 ERA). Both runs came on a two-run homer in Glasnow's return from the IL. Since, he has tossed 10 1/3 scoreless frames over three starts.
Expect Tampa Bay's bullpen to be ready to take over around the fourth or fifth inning, however, as Glasnow is still working his way back to full strength.
Prior to the injury, Glasnow had a 1.86 ERA and a 30 percent strikeout rate over eight starts. Friday's start will be the 26-year-old's first career postseason appearance.
Left-hander Blake Snell will get the start in Game 2 on Saturday. He went 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 23 starts this season, after going 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA en route to winning the 2018 AL Cy Young Award. The 26-year-old southpaw will also be making his postseason debut.
Fresh off his historic victory in the AL Wild Card Game, righty Charlie Morton will start Game 3 against his former team. Against the A's, Morton earned his third victory in a winner-take-all postseason contest, a first in MLB history. Morton remade himself as a pitcher during his 2017-18 tenure with the Astros, going 29-10 with a 3.36 ERA before departing for the Rays via free agency.