After a tough stretch for a few weeks of the season between May and into June, the Tampa Bay Rays are starting to find their footing again.
They finished a series against the Kansas City Royals strongly, winning the last two of the four-game set after dropping the first two. That momentum was carried right into their three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With Drew Rasmussen on the mound, the team was going for a sweep of the series after climbing back into first place in the American League East. Looking to keep that positive momentum going, the Rays are set for another three-game set against the Royals starting June 30.
Given that the team has a day off on June 29, manager Kevin Cash will be able to set his rotation up for the stretch run of the first half heading into the All-Star break, accordingly. And that is exactly what he did.
Rays announce starting rotation against Royals
As shared by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Times, the team has made some slight adjustments to their probable pitchers against Kansas City. In Game 1, it will be Griffin Jax taking the mound.
Since being moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation, he has been excellent. Pitching coach Kyle Snyder helped change his pitch mix as a starter, and it has paid dividends, with Jax becoming a reliable source of production on the mound.
Hopefully, he can keep that up. It will be interesting to see what kind of innings limit he has after spending all of the offseason and spring training preparing to be a relief pitcher.
The same sentiment can be shared for the Game 2 starter, Shane McClanahan. After missing 2.5 seasons because of injuries, he has returned and helped anchor the starting lineup with stellar production.
#Rays clarified rotation plans, McClanahan will pitch Wednesday at #Royals, then again against #Yankees at home before All-Star break.
Rays rotation in KC:
Jax
McClanahan
Seymour or opener— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) June 28, 2026
Almost assuredly, he is on some kind of workload limit to keep him healthy through the regular season and available for the playoffs. The change also means he will start one of the games against the New York Yankees in a massive series ahead of the break.
The same sentiment about workload for Jax and McClanahan also goes for their new No. 5 starter, Ian Seymour, who took the place of the ineffective Steven Matz.
Another converted relief pitcher, he has experience as a starter, but it wasn’t a role planned for him coming into 2026. However, he is coming off the best outing of his Big League career against these same Royals and will be looking to repeat that success.
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