Jonathan

Aranda

Vilade started over Aranda at first base against a lefty on Monday. That Mesa committed a miscue in that one might factor into him taking a seat tonight, but on paper, going to Vilade against a righty seems like a bit of a downgrade both offensively and defensively. The Rays’ lineup as they try to extend the series: DH Yandy Díaz, 1B Aranda, 3B Junior Caminero, C Liam Hicks, CF Jonny DeLuca, LF Chandler Simpson, RF Vilade, 2B Richie Palacios and SS Taylor Walls.

Aranda has been a platoon player in the past, but not so much recently. He had started all of the Rays’ previous postseason games, and he’s hit .310/.383/.405 in 48 plate appearances. Ryan Vilade is playing first base in his place tonight, and Nick Fortes is catching over Liam Hicks. The lineup: DH Yandy Díaz, 1B Vilade, LF Chandler Simpson, 3B Junior Caminero, 2B Ben Williamson, CF Jonny DeLuca, RF Victor Mesa Jr., C Fortes and SS Taylor Walls.

Aranda singled off of Jacob Misiorowski in the opening inning, but the Rays were unable to cash him in. He then worked a leadoff walk in the fourth inning and scored on an RBI ground out off the bat of Liam Hicks. He also singled in the sixth inning but was cut down attempting to steal second base. While he did his part on Friday night, the Rays are going to need to find a way to get much more offense in Game 2 on Saturday or they could be facing a 2-0 deficit in the Series.

Williamson has been functioning in a short-side platoon role with nearly all of his starts coming against left-handers, so it’s interesting to see him in there against Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski for Game 1. Here’s the full lineup that manager Kevin Cash will deploy as the Rays look to secure the first World Series title in their franchise’s history: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Chandler Simpson (LF), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Ben Williamson (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

With left-hander Parker Messick on the mound for the Guardians in Game 5, the Rays will change things up with Vilade starting in right field and batting third while Williamson takes over at second base and will bat eighth. Here’s the full lineup that Rays’ skipper Kevin Cash will deploy as the Rays look to take control of the ALCS on Sunday: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Ryan Vilade (RF), Junior Caminero (3B), Chandler Simpson (LF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Liam Hicks (C), Ben Williamson (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

Aranda tied the game at 1-1 with a bloop single into center in the third inning. The 28-year-old had a two-run single in the seventh to extend that lead to 4-1, but he was credited with just one more RBI because of an error by Chase DeLauter. He’s now hitting a respectable .269/.345/.385 in the postseason, and he has the Rays two wins from their second trip to the World Series in Rays’ history.

The Rays will utilize the same starting nine that they used in Thursday’s loss in Game 3, but the batting order has changed. Simpson moves up from fifth to third while Junior Caminero slides into the cleanup spot. Here’s the full lineup that the Rays will deploy against Shawn Armstrong and a host of Guardians’ relievers: Yandy Diaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Simpson (LF), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

Vilade posted an .818 OPS against southpaws during the regular season and will get a chance to face Guardians starter Foster Griffin at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-seven showdown. The 27-year-old lefty-masher blasted a solo homer off Yankees ace Max Fried during Tampa Bay’s series-clinching victory last week. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Vilade (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Ben Williamson (2B), Taylor Walls (SS) and Nick Fortes (C).

Rays manager Kevin Cash isn’t making any changes following a series-opening victory where Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer was enough for a nearly-flawless Drew Rasmussen, who took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Caminero, who is likely to finish near the top of AL MVP Award balloting, finished a phenomenal regular season with 42 home runs, reaching the lofty 40-homer plateau for the second straight season. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Chandler Simpson (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

Aranda connected on a third-inning changeup from Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, sending a majestic 417-foot blast into the right-center field seats for his first career playoff round-tripper. It wound up being the lone run for either side in a low-scoring pitcher’s duel at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-five series. The two teams return to action with Game 2 in Tampa Bay on Monday evening.