The Tampa Bay Rays updated Ian Seymour to start Tuesday night against the New York Yankees, giving him the ball in the second game of a four-game series that could shape the AL East race. The game was scheduled for 6:40 pm ET in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The move answers a question the Rays had left open and sends Seymour into a matchup with immediate division weight. The Yankees came into the series four games back, and the Rays had been playing well enough to move ahead in the AL East, making every start in the set matter a little more than usual.
Seymour has been working as a swingman for the last month, handling bulk innings either at the start of games or after an opener. That usage has given Tampa Bay another way to manage its rotation, and it also explains why this assignment is not being treated like a simple traditional start. The Rays have used openers and relievers in starting roles throughout the year, and this one fits that pattern.
There is reason for the Rays to trust him, even if the results have not all pointed in the same direction. Seymour threw 6.2 innings of no-hit ball in a near-combined no-hitter against the Royals on June 25, then beat the Royals again on July 2. But the Nationals also tagged him for three runs on seven hits in a loss on June 20, a reminder that his recent run has carried both high-end outs and some real damage.
That mix is part of what makes Tuesday interesting. The Rays are pushing Shane McClanahan back a day for extra rest as he continues to work back from injury, so Seymour is the arm they are turning to in a game that sits inside a bigger divisional stretch. Will Warren is on the other side with a 4.70 ERA across 10 starts after May 1, and he held the Tigers to two runs in 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts in his last outing, which only raises the value of Tampa Bay getting a solid outing from its fill-in starter.
The larger question is how far the Rays want Seymour to go. They have already shown they will mix and match when the schedule demands it, and Tuesday night will show whether this is another short-burst assignment or a deeper look at how much they can ask from a pitcher who has turned into one of their most flexible options.
