Griffin Jax set to start for Rays on Friday evening

It was a surprisingly quick hook for Seymour today, though that might have had something to do with the start of the game being pushed back by rain. Seymour gave up two homers, but he wasn’t exactly stressed in throwing 61 pitches over three innings and he struck out four. He’s due to face the Blue Jays on Thursday.

The Red Sox got after Englert in the first inning, tallying three straight extra-base hits, which included back-to-back homers by Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras to put the Red Sox up 3-2. Abreu would get the best of Englert again in the third inning, when he blasted his second homer of the game, a solo shot, into the stands to put the Sox up 4-3 after the Rays had tied it in the top of the frame. He would allow two more runs before being pulled to start the sixth inning, but it goes without saying that this was a rough outing for Englert, who was making just his third start of the season. He’s now started back-to-back games for the Rays, but today’s start was likely due to the Rays playing the second game of a doubleheader. If he is to make another start when this spot in the rotation comes around, it would come on Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Nothing under the hood looked too bad for Jax, who gave up his one home run just inside the Pesky Pole to Masataka Yoshida. The Red Sox chained a HBP-single-walk-single start to the sixth inning together and reliever Chris Roycroft allowed two inherited runners to score to balloon Jax’s ERA. Jax had a 36 percent whiff rate and allowed just seven hard-hit balls -- four against his four-seamer -- in 85 pitches. He’ll look to bounce back next time out against the Blue Jays.

Englert is being called up as the 27th man on Friday. He could be used in a bulk role, but Englert threw 5 2/3 innings in his last outing so he will be used for length, regardless of whether or not he makes a traditional start.

Jax stranded the bases loaded in the first inning with a pair of strikeouts, then gave up a run on a hit and sacrifice fly in the second. He tossed three more scoreless innings, ending his day with three strikeouts over five innings. The 31-year-old right-hander has done well in the rotation, posting a 2.80 ERA over 61 innings as a starter.

McClanahan allowed four hits and didn’t walk anyone. Alongside Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, he’s one of three Rays starters with at least 80 innings and an ERA under 3. The left-hander hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was before missing two full seasons, but it’s hard to complain about the results. Tampa Bay visits the Red Sox coming out of the All-Star break.

It’s fair to say that Seymour probably should’ve been in Tampa Bay’s season-opening rotation instead of pitching out of the bullpen. The 27-year-old southpaw isn’t overpowering, instead relying on command and pitch sequencing, mixing his sweeper, four-seamer and changeup to keep hitters off balance. He did that to near perfection against a suddenly struggling Yankees lineup in this one, generating an eye-popping 17 swinging strikes and allowing just four batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. His lone mistake was a sinker that he left over the plate that Ben Rice took the opposite way for a three-run shot in the third inning. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in six consecutive outings since June 8. He’ll get the ball for Sunday’s first-half finale against the Mariners. Needless to say, Seymour should be rostered in all fantasy formats until further notice.

Jax transitioned seamlessly into Tampa Bay’s rotation back in late April and hasn’t looked back. The 31-year-old recorded his first double-digit strikeout performance of the season, holding New York hitless into the fifth inning before coughing up a tie-breaking three-run homer to former Rays utility specialist José Caballero. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in six consecutive starts since June 7. He’ll close out the first half with a favorable home matchup against the Mariners on Saturday to wrap up a two-start week. Needless to say, he should be rostered in all fantasy formats at this juncture.

Englert pitched well on Sunday, allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine in a loss to the Astros. The Rays will bring up some extra bullpen help in the meantime and then figure out a fifth starter if they need one over the weekend.

Englert was just recalled from Triple-A Durham to start Sunday’s game, and while he picked up the loss, it went well. The only damage was a pair of solo homers, and outside of that, he had the Houston hitters off-balance while throwing 65-of-101 pitches for strikes. The Rays don’t have a starter scheduled for Friday against the Mariners, and it seems pretty likely that Englert will get the nod for that contest. If he doesn’t, it won’t be based on the results from Sunday.