Chandler

Simpson

Simpson regularly occupied the lead-off spot for the Rays from mid-April through early June, but hasn’t hit there since June 5th. Instead, he’s mostly hit fifth or sixth over the last few weeks. With him back atop the order, regular lead-off hitter Yandy Díaz shifted down to fourth and Liam Hicks down one spot to fifth.

Simpson, 25, will get a day off for the series finale against the A’s. Jonny DeLuca will hit sixth and play left field while Simpson rests.

Simpson came into the day hitting .375/.376/.446 in 30 games since July 1 with 14 runs scored and 12 RBI. He did hit third in this game, with Junior Caminero moving down to clean up. If that sticks, Simpson could see a nice bump in runs and RBI as well.

No steals, though. All three hits were on grounders. He’s up to .404/.411/.462 with five steals since the All-Star break, though that’s only amounted to six runs scored and three RBI in 15 games.

Ryan Vilade gets an opportunity to face lefty Noah Schultz once opener Jordan Hicks departs. Aranda has been struggling recently, hitting .182 (10-for-55) with one extra-base hit in 14 games since the All-Star break. It’ll be a different-looking Tampa Bay lineup in this one with speedster Chandler Simpson hitting second behind Yandy Díaz.

Simpson led off the fifth inning with a single off of Parker Messick. He then took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a ground ball and scored on a bunt single by Cedric Mullins to give the Rays a 1-0 advantage. That would be the only offense for either side in the contest. With the two-hit attack, the speedy 25-year-old outfielder is now hitting .296/.329/.359 with zero homers, 20 RBI and 26 stolen bases on the season.

Simpson missed each of the team’s previous two games due to a sore finger that he suffered when jamming his hand into second base on a stolen base attempt. The 25-year-old speedster is starting in left field and batting fifth for the Rays on Sunday afternoon in Houston against Astros right-hander Peter Lambert.

Simpson remains stapled to Tampa Bay’s bench after being scratched from the lineup for Friday’s game against the Astros due to right finger soreness. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters the move was merely precautionary after Simpson jammed his fingers sliding into second base earlier this week. He’s day-to-day heading into the final two games of a series against the Astros this weekend.

Simpson reached on an infield single in the second inning and scored the Rays’ first run on an RBI double off the bat of Taylor Walls. He also singled in the second but wound up stranded at third base. The 25-year-old speedster then reached on a bunt single with two outs in the fifth, swiped second base and rode home on a two-run blast by Cedric Mullins. He’s now slashing .278/.317/.331 with zero homers, 16 RBI and 20 stolen bases on the year.