WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 vs. RH vs. RH Tanner Roark First Pitch: 1:05 p.m. | Location: , Charlotte County, Fla. | TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Game No: 1 (0-0-0) | vs. AL: 0-0-0 | vs. NL: 0-0-0 | Home: 0-0-0 | Road: 0-0-0 Day 11 of | 32 Days Until —Sunday, April 3 vs. TOR (4:05 p.m.)

SALUTING OUR TROOPS—The Rays will recognize military at today’s NEW TO THE 40-MAN ROSTER (8)— TODAY’S STARTING LINEUP Grapefruit League opener vs. the Nationals, with a special tribute to the ÊÊ Signed as Free Agent (2): INF/OF 27 Mikie Mahtook (R) RF men and women of Charlotte County who have served their country…the Steve Pearce, RH Ryan Webb 39 Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF USSOCOM Parachute Team will deliver an American flag and first pitch ÊÊ Acquired in Trades (5): C Hank 3 (R) 3B ball as part of a pregame presentation…the Rays have donated 300 tickets Conger, OF Corey Dickerson, RH 7 (L) DH through Charlotte County Veterans Services for local veterans and their , INF , 8 Desmond Jennings (R) LF families to attend the game, many of whom will receive special recogni- 1B/OF Logan Morrison 21 (L) 1B 1 (R) SS tion…the Rays will also be assisting veterans in their efforts to construct ÊÊ Claimed off Waivers (1): RH 2 (S) 2B the Vietnam Wall of Southwest Florida in Charlotte County, a replica of the Chase Whitley 19 Curt Casali (R) C Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. 23 Jake Odorizzi RHP ÊÊ Prior to today’s game, the Rays will honor the family of CM1 Patrick KEY LOSSES (11)— Jackson of the US Navy Seabees, a Port Charlotte High School grad- ÊÊ Free Agent (5): SS Asdrubal Ca- RAYS IN uate who has honorably served for 21 years…his wife, Julie, 7-year- brera, RH Brandon Gomes, DH SPRING TRAINING old son, Isaiah, and 5-year-old daughter, Fallon, will all take part in , OF Daniel Nava, OF W-L-T Att. the ceremonial first pitch. Grady Sizemore 2015 15-13-2 80,406 2014 16-7-4 78,264 Ê RH Nathan Karns, LH Ê Traded (4): 2013 15-17-2 90,935 PLAY BALL!—Today the Rays open BEST RECORD, MLB, Jake McGee, LH C.J. Riefenhaus- 2012 10-16-6 87,916 their 19th spring in the Grapefruit League SPRING TRAINING, 2008-15 er, RH Kirby Yates 2011 15-14-2 95,859 and eighth calling Charlotte Sports Park W-L-T Pct. ÊÊ Released (1): C J.P. Arencibia 2010 20-8-2 97,971 home…since becoming the Rays in 2008, Royals 141-100 .585 ÊÊ Waived (1): OF Joey Butler 2009 15-16-1 103,255 the team has recorded at least 15 wins in Angels 139-103 .574 2008 18-8-2 54,960 seven out of eight spring trainings…they Rays 124-99 .556 ON THE AIRWAVES—Radio broadcasts 2007 10-19-2 79,044 never achieved this in 10 springs as the Cardinals 121-100 .548 of today’s opener and tomorrow vs. BAL 2006 13-16-1 70,756 Tigers 134-111 .547 Devil Rays…the Rays have compiled a are available at raysbaseball.com…to- 2005 13-16 61,261 2004 11-8 43,916 124-99 (.556) spring record during this day and are in Dave Wills Andy Freed 2003 8-19-3 51,324 span, 3rd best in the majors (see chart)…the Rays are three-time Grapefruit the booth, with Neil Solondz providing 2002 10-16-1 49,043 League champions (2008, 2010, 2014). in-game reports…tomorrow, Neil will be 2001 12-15-1 57,081 ÊÊ Today is the first of 192 games the Rays are scheduled to play in joined in the booth by Doug Waechter… 2000 14-17 67,089 2016, with 29 Grapefruit League contests, one game in Cuba and Saturday and Sunday will air on the Rays 1999 14-14-1 59,230 162 regular-season games…this spring, the Rays will play 14 spring Radio Network, with Dave, Andy and Neil. 1998 12-18 66,781 games at Charlotte Sports Park and 15 on the road in addition to ÊÊ INF Brad Miller, bullpen coach Total 241-257-30 1,295,451 the game in Havana…the schedule includes two split-squad days: Stan Boroski and major league March 13 (vs. BOS, at TOR) and April 1 (at ATL, at DET). coach Jamie Nelson are guests BEST RECORD, MLB, on this week’s edition of the Hot REGULAR SEASON, 2008-15 W-L-T Pct. THE VITALS—The Rays clubhouse is open to media today from 8:30– Stove radio show, airing on WDAE Yankees 735-561 .567 9:30 a.m. …Manager will be available in his office at 9:30… 620 AM from 7 to 8 p.m. tomorrow Cardinals 728-568 .562 players will do fundamental drills at 10:00, and take BP at 10:20…for fans, from Charlotte Sports Park…hosts Angels 713-583 .550 parking lots open at 10:00 (parking is $10) and gates open at 11:00. Dave Wills and Andy Freed will Rays 707-590 .545 ÊÊ Spring training tickets are available online at raysbaseball.com, by be joined by Neil Solondz. Dodgers 705-590 .544 phone at 888-FAN-RAYS or in person at the Charlotte Sports Park Box Office…the Charlotte Sports Park box office opens at 10 a.m. RAYS THE LINKS—Yesterday was the annual Rays Charity Golf Tournament at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club CUBA TRIP FINALIZED—Yesterday evening, Major League and in Bradenton…the winning team was Corey Dickerson with Kevin Dut- the Players Association announced the Rays will kowsky, Lorraine Dutkowsky, Bob Dutkowsky and Victor Martinez with officially travel to Cuba to play the Cuban National Team on March 22 at Es- a score of 54…Jake Odorizzi and a Rays ownership group finished 2nd, tadio Latinoamericano in Havana…ESPN and ESPN Deportes will provide and Evan Longoria and Tampa General Hospital placed 3rd…Dickerson live, national coverage of the game, and ESPN’s SportsCenter will have an and the Dutkowsky group won the speed hole contest at 49 seconds…the on-site presence in Havana on March 21-22…the Rays will be only the sec- longest drive contest was won by Steve Geltz—at 325 yards. ond major league club in the last 57 years to play a game in Cuba…most recently, the defeated the Cuban National Team on March RAYS UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY—This Sunday, March 6 vs. MIN, is Lit- 28, 1999 by a score of 3-2 in 11 innings, before 50,000 fans at Estadio tle League Day…Little Leaguers from Charlotte County area little leagues Latinoamericano…see separate “Baseball in Cuba” packet for more details. will receive a free general admission ticket at the box office on the day of ÊÊ Media interested in traveling to Cuba for the event must contact John the game by wearing their Little League jersey. Blundell of the MLB Communications Department as soon as pos- ÊÊ Next Wednesday, March 9 vs. TOR, is Heroes Day, when the Rays sible to receive consideration…email [email protected]. will honor first responders of the Charlotte County area…employees of the Charlotte County area’s police departments, fire departments, RAYS vs. NATIONALS: A SPRING UNICORN—Today is only the third EMTs and other first responder organizations will have the opportu- Grapefruit League game between the Rays and Washington Nationals, and nity to receive a free general admission ticket when they present their the first ever at Charlotte Sports Park…the previous two games were played employee identification badge at the Charlotte Sports Park box office April 1-2, 2005: the Devil Rays lost, 3-2, in Viera, and lost the next day, 5-4, the day of the game. at …this is the only spring game between the clubs in 2016. ÊÊ The Sixth Annual BaseBALL Dinner & Auction benefiting the Boys & ÊÊ In 2015, the Rays went 3-1 against the Nationals as they played Girls Clubs of Charlotte County will be held on Friday, March 11 at a “home-and-home” interleague set, June 15-18…the Rays were in 6:30 p.m., at Charlotte Sports Park…to purchase tickets, fans should first place in the AL East after winning the 2 games in Washington, call (941) 979-8379…for the seventh consecutive year, the Rays June 17-18, holding a 1.0-game lead over the Yankees. will be featured at the event…expected this year are Rays Manager ÊÊ Their only loss to the Nationals last year was a 16-4 setback June 16… Kevin Cash, his coaching staff and several players. Rays yielded 23 hits in that game, their most ever allowed at Tropicana Field, and used two position players to pitch in Jake EIGHT YEARS AS THE RAYS (2008-15)—Since changing their name to Elmore and Nick Franklin…it was the first time a team used two the Rays in 2008, the Rays are 707-590 (.545), fourth-best record in the position players to pitch in a 9-inning game since July 20, 1990, when majors after the Yankees (.567), Cardinals (.562) and Angels (.550)…their the Expos used Dave Martinez and Junior Noboa. four postseason appearances in this span have been equaled by only the Yankees (5), Tigers (4) and Rangers (4). ROLL CALL—All 64 players have reported to camp, consisting of 33 P, ÊÊ During this span, the Rays pitching staff leads the 7 C, 14 INF and 10 OF…23 are non-roster invites…seven players on the with a 3.72 ERA, 10,085 , a .240 opp avg. and 108 shut- 40-man roster joined the organization since the end of the 2015 regular outs…their 5,178 runs allowed are the fewest by an AL team over any season, five of those via …19 players on the 40-man roster were ac- eight-year span since the Yankees of 1979-86 (5,173). quired via trade…only six players on the current 40-man roster made their ÊÊ In the Rays era, Tampa Bay has had 15 different players named to the Rays debut prior to 2013: 3B Evan Longoria, OF Desmond Jennings, RH All-Star Team, and none of them had been an All-Star prior to joining Alex Cobb, OF Brandon Guyer, LH and RH . the organization. VIDEO ON A SILVER PLATTER—The Rays provide a daily postgame video feed of 17 non-televised spring training games…this will include about two CHARLOTTE SPORTS PARK MEDIA INFORMATION minutes of highlights plus two short interviews…for day games, video should Pregame Media Schedule (all 1:05 games) be uploaded by 5:15 p.m. …to receive email updates or for more information, Clubhouse opens to media 8:30 a.m. contact Chris Tilley ([email protected] or 727-434-0497). Kevin Cash available (manager’s office) 9:30 a.m. Rays stretch 9:30 a.m. UPCOMING PROBABLES—Today vs. WAS Rays batting practice 10:20 a.m. ÊÊ TB—RH Jake Odorizzi (start), RH Andrew Bellatti, LH Enny Romero, Visitors batting practice 11:20 a.m. LH , RH , RH Mark Sappington, RH Eddie 2016 Rays Media Guides are available digitally on RaysPressbox.com Gamboa and MLBPressbox.com…see a member of the Communications staff to Ê Ê WAS—RH Tanner Roark (start), RH , RH Austin Voth, RH request a hard copy. Rafael Martin, LH Sammy Solis, LH Matt Grace, RH Wander Suero, RH Paulo Espino, RH Abel De Los Santos, RH Erik Davis Parking is available to media on the grass directly behind the paved lots Thu., March 3 vs. BAL of the main ballpark entrance...media parking is free to those with spring ÊÊ TB—RH Erasmo Ramirez (start), LH Dana Eveland, RH Matt Andri- training credentials...please see the Communications staff for a pass if ese, RH Danny Farquhar, RH Steve Geltz, RH Jaime Schultz you plan to cover a large number of games. ÊÊ BAL—RH Miguel Gonzalez (start), relievers TBA Rays Clubhouse will be open from 8:30–9:30 a.m. on most days…it will Fri., March 4 at BOS re-open when necessary in-game. ÊÊ TB—RH Chris Archer (start), RH Kyle McPherson, RH Jhan Mariñez, LH Adam Wilk, RH Adam Reifer, RH Jacob Faria, RH Parker Markel Media Workroom (separate from the press box) is located at Charlotte ÊÊ BOS—RH Joe Kelly (start), RH Steven Wright, RH Junichi Tazawa, Sports Park on the first floor of the building located beyond the right field RH Craig Kimbrel, RH William Cuevas, RH Roman Mendez fence that houses the Rays clubhouse and executive offices.

TODAY’S RAYS STARTER—RH Jake Odorizzi Media Dining is located behind the press box...the Rays serve a meal ÊÊ 2015 with Rays: 9-9, 3.35 ERA (169.1-IP, 63-ER) in 28 starts prior to all home games at Charlotte Sports Park at a cost of $8. Ê Ê In 2015, his 28 starts ranked 2nd on the staff behind Chris Archer… Daily Credentials must be requested at credentials.mlb.com at least 24 ranked among AL leaders with a 3.35 ERA (8th) and .231 opp avg. hours in advance…credentials can be picked up at the reception desk (tied for 9th). located in the entrance of the Rays Clubhouse Building until 3 hours Ê Ê His ERA was below 3.50 all season, one of only five to do that in the AL before first pitch, after which point they must be picked up at Guest Ser- in 2015 (, Dallas Keuchel, Scott Kazmir, ). vices near the box office. ÊÊ He and Archer became just the third set of Rays teammates to finish in the top 10 in ERA, joining and CONNECT WITH US (2011) and David Price and Hellickson (2012). Wireless Internet is available in the Press Box and Media Workroom. ÊÊ Received the 5th-lowest support in the AL at 3.77 runs per 9 IP… Network: MLB-Press2016 | Password: MediaPressWiFi the Rays scored 2 runs or fewer for him 14 times and 16 runs total in his 9 losses…became only the second qualifying starter in club history RaysPressbox.com is a private, media-only website and central location to post a sub-4.00 ERA and not win at least 10 games…also Matt for all Rays media info, including 2016 Media Guide PDF files, press Garza in 2009 (8-12, 3.95). releases, game notes, statistics and other gameday documents. ÊÊ Thirty pct. of his pitches were , most in the majors according Username: media | Password: r@ys2016 to FanGraphs…65 of his 150 SO came on the (43.3 pct.). Media are also encouraged to follow the private @RaysPressbox ÊÊ A strained oblique on June 5 at SEA cost him five weeks of the sea- Twitter account to be notified of all media alerts. son…made 3 fewer starts than in 2014, but worked 1.1 more innings… lowered his ERA from 4.13 in 2014 to 3.35 and reduced his hits and RAYS COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT INFO walks allowed. Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El Jobean Rd., Port Charlotte, FL 33948 Ê Ê Recorded wins over DET David Price, HOU Dallas Keuchel and MIA Main Number, Rays Office (941) 235-5025 Jose Fernandez, who were a combined 44-11 in their other starts. Communications Department (941) 235-5044 ÊÊ Over 2014-15, has made 11 scoreless starts—the same number as Press Box (941) 235-5082 Felix Hernandez and …the only AL pitchers with more in Rick Vaughn, Vice President [email protected] that span are Kyle Gibson (14), Archer (13) and Scott Kazmir (12)… Cell – (727) 439-0671 James Shields, the he was traded for, has 7 in that span. Dave Haller, Sr. Director [email protected] ÊÊ The new father turns 26 on March 27…he and his wife, Carissa, wel- Cell – (727) 773-6904 comed their first child on Dec 27, son Rhett Walker. Craig Vanderkam, Sr. Coordinator [email protected] (handles credential requests) Cell – (616) 389-9863 George Pappas, Sr. Coordinator [email protected] SPRING TRANSACTIONS— Cell – (727) 542-6932 Feb 18 Signed RH Ryan Webb to a major league contract; placed RH Dukes Knutson, Press Box Attendant Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day DL. 2016 SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE DAY DATE OPPONENT SITE R/TV TIME/SCORE W-L WP LP ATT Wed March 2 Washington Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Thu March 3 Baltimore Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Fri March 4 @Boston Fort Myers 1:05 p.m. Sat March 5 @Baltimore Sarasota R 7:05 p.m. Sun March 6 Minnesota Charlotte County R 1:05 p.m. Mon March 7 @Boston Fort Myers 1:05 p.m. Tue March 8 @Detroit Lakeland 1:05 p.m. Wed March 9 Toronto Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Thu March 10 Pittsburgh Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Fri March 11 @Pittsburgh Bradenton 1:05 p.m. Sat March 12 New York-AL Charlotte County T/R 1:05 p.m. Sun March 13 Boston (SS) Charlotte County R 1:05 p.m. @Toronto (SS) Dunedin 1:05 p.m. Mon March 14 @Atlanta Disney 1:05 p.m. Tue March 15 Philadelphia Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Wed March 16 OPEN DATE Thu March 17 @Philadelphia Clearwater 1:05 p.m. Fri March 18 Boston Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Sat March 19 Baltimore Charlotte County R 1:05 p.m. Sun March 20 @Baltimore Sarasota R 1:05 p.m. Mon March 21 OPEN DATE Tue March 22 Cuban National Team Havana, Cuba E TBA Wed March 23 @Minnesota Lee County 1:05 p.m. Thu March 24 @New York-AL Tampa R 6:35 p.m. Fri March 25 Minnesota Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Sat March 26 @Pittsburgh Bradenton R 6:05 p.m. Sun March 27 Toronto Charlotte County T/R 1:05 p.m. Mon March 28 OPEN DATE Tue March 29 @Toronto (SS) Dunedin 1:05 p.m. Wed March 30 Boston (SS) Charlotte County T/M 1:05 p.m. Thu March 31 Pittsburgh Charlotte County M 1:05 p.m. Fri April 1 @Atlanta (SS) Disney 1:05 p.m. @Detroit (SS) Lakeland 1:05 p.m.

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