Rays bring back Scholtens to pitch Friday

Scholtens pitched four innings in relief last night, so of course he’s going back to the minors. He has a 4.03 ERA in 44 2/3 innings for the Rays this season.

Scholtens missed two months with a wrist strain. He’ll probably see some time with the Rays down the stretch, but given that he’d allowed eight runs in 9 1/3 innings on his rehab assignment, the team was in no hurry to bring him back.

Scholtens had been more-or-less used as a bulk man this year, with two starts and nine appearances, but 37 2/3 innings pitched. He had a 3.82 ERA and a 5.35 FIP, with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks. Tampa will have to find a new bulk pitcher going forward since they signed Craig Kimbrel to Scholten’s empty 40-man roster spot.

Matz, who returned from elbow inflammation without a rehab assignment, left a 1-1 game after throwing 67 pitches. Jesse Scholtens followed and allowed two runs over four innings, resulting in a win for him after the Rays scored four times in the eighth. Matz should be ready to throw five innings next time out, and he’ll make for an intriguing mixed-league play with starts against the Orioles and Angels next week.

LHP Ian Seymour will begin the game for the Rays. Scholtens will have a better chance of snagging a win with the move, since he’s proved unable to cover five innings, and he’s best approached as a deep-league streamer for the occasion.

Scholtens made it through the first two innings unscathed but fell victim to a solo homer by Wilyer Abreu in the third inning and another solo homer by Ceddanne Rafaela in the fourth inning to fall behind 2-0 on the night. Scholtens would return in the fifth inning and retired the first two batters he faced, but was pulled in favor of Mason Englert after allowing the next two batters he faced to reach base. Scholtens has allowed two earned runs or fewer in all but one of his outings this season. Playing primarily out of the bullpen, it’s hard to say if he will draw another start in five days. If he does, he would get the nod on Wednesday against the Jays.

Scholtens improved to 2-1 with the effort, which followed a 2 1/3 inning performance by Griffin Jax. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out just one. His next appearance is scheduled for a home matchup against the Giants. He’s entered out of the bullpen in three of his four games so far.

There were some positives here as Scholtens finished with six strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass. He coughed up seven hits, including a gargantuan two-run homer to Sal Stewart, and didn’t get any support from Tampa Bay’s offense. The 32-year-old righty will close out a two-start week with a favorable matchup against the Twins on Sunday.

There had been some reports that the Rays would use an opener, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Scholtens threw five shutout innings in his last appearance, which was a bulk relief role. He could make a decent streamer in deeper formats.

Working in a bulk relief role following opener Cole Sulsler, Scholtens cruised against the feeble White Sox lineup. He had a very slider-heavy approach as they accounted for nearly half of his total pitches against a mostly left-handed lineup. It worked out here despite only forcing five total swings-and-misses. He lines up for a two-start (or two bulk appearance) week coming up against the Reds and Twins at home.