In his first seven appearances, Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge has opened and closed. He’s picked up three wins and his second career save. He’s pitched multiple innings three times and entered with runners on base four times. Less than a month into the season, Kittredge has pitched in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th innings.

Manager Kevin Cash has said the Rays need their relievers to be as flexible as possible, given the injuries they’re dealing with and their creative pitching plans. It’s hard to imagine anyone answering that bell better than Kittredge has so far.

“Knowing that I could be used at any point, I've just got to be ready as soon as I head down to the bullpen there at the start of the game,” Kittredge said Sunday morning. “It keeps me locked into the game, kind of ready, and I think we have a great group of guys down there in the 'pen who are kind of all in that same situation, that are pretty much just ready to throw whenever. So it's fun. I like being versatile.”

Indeed, Kittredge has to be ready at any point. He was credited with a win on Tuesday in Kansas City, when he entered the game with a runner on second base in the third inning and retired all three hitters he faced. He pitched the ninth inning in the Rays’ 5-3 win on Saturday night, working around a one-out double to become the fourth Tampa Bay pitcher with a save this season.

It was a milestone moment for Kittredge. The day after he secured his first career save at Fenway Park last Aug. 10, he started for the Rays and exited with an elbow injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Now fully healthy, he’s picking up right where he left off.

“It’s awesome. Those are the situations that you want to pitch in,” he said. “The adrenaline's always there. Any opportunity I'm going to get to throw on a big league mound is exciting and great, but especially in the late games when it's tied or close, definitely enjoy pitching in those.”

Streaking A’s coming to town
On Monday, the Rays will begin a four-game series with the A’s, who won 13 straight games before losing to the Orioles, 8-1, on Sunday. It will be the first meeting between Tampa Bay and Oakland since the Rays won the 2019 American League Wild Card Game, 5-1, at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Rays are set to start Rich Hill, Michael Wacha and Tyler Glasnow in the first three games at Tropicana Field. Having pitched for Oakland in 2016, Hill can certainly appreciate what the A’s are doing now, and the similarities the two forward-thinking, lower-payroll contenders share.

“High energy. And it doesn't necessarily have to go with the makeup of being, 'Oh, they're a younger team, so they have high energy,’” Hill said. “You have a team that is kind of, I call it like the -- and it might necessarily not be this -- it's like the misfit sock drawer. It's just guys that don't have a match, but there's something in there that makes them really, really good. And being able to find out what that is, organizations that have a little bit more maybe intel on that player can produce that success from the player.”

After giving up four runs without recording an out in the third inning Tuesday in Kansas City, Hill believes he’s identified a few things that should help him pitch deeper into games. For one, he’s focused on throwing better pitches with two strikes. And he believes he’s been giving runners on second base an opportunity to see what pitches he’s throwing and relay those signs to the hitter -- something that could explain why big innings have been a theme throughout his first four starts.

“I'm not saying that's the [reason], but I mean, it also doesn't serve a great purpose for me if they have some idea of what's coming,” Hill said Sunday following a bullpen session at Tropicana Field. “So making an adjustment with that and, you know, try to make better concerted effort towards 0-2, 1-2 pitches.”

Around the horn
• Cash said Tampa Bay is open to using Brent Honeywell Jr. in shorter outings on less rest, as he did in his last two appearances for the Rays before they optioned him back to their alternate training site following Saturday’s game. Tampa Bay doesn’t view Honeywell as a one-inning reliever, but it’s possible -- depending on how he bounces back after pitching -- that he could help the Rays in a shorter-burst role this season, given all the injuries they’ve dealt with in their bullpen.

“I think he's gotten to the point in his young career -- although it's been long in the terms of injuries and rehab -- of understanding the value of just being honest and letting us know,” Cash said. “He's going to impact us, but we've got to get there the right way where he's bouncing back good and he feels good every time he's taking the ball.”

• In-game reporter Tricia Whitaker performed recorded versions of “O Canada” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Sunday’s series finale and sang “God Bless America,” which played during the seventh-inning stretch.