Rays place veteran pitcher on IL ahead of Blue Jays clash

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to push the New York Yankees for first in the American League East this season. The Rays though are getting some tough news on Tuesday, ahead of a clash with the Toronto Blue Jays. Tampa Bay pitcher Steven Matz is headed to the injured list, per the team.

“The Tampa Bay Rays have placed LHP Steven Matz (left elbow inflammation) on the 15-day IL (retro May 4) and selected RHP Chase Solesky from Triple-A Durham,” the team posted to X, formerly Twitter.

This season Matz has a 3.86 ERA for Tampa. He has started seven games for the team, and picked up four wins. He is one of the most experienced pitchers in the team’s rotation, so this is a tough hit for the club.

The Rays are second in the AL East this season. Tampa Bay is just one and a half games behind the Yankees, who lead the division. The Rays are 22-12 so far this year.

Rays looking to win the AL East

Tampa Bay was not seen as one of the contenders to win the AL East this season, before the campaign began. Still, the team has exceeded expectations and is ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox in the standings.

The Rays are playing well despite already dealing with some injuries to their pitching staff. Ryan Pepiot is out for the season, and will need hip surgery. Rays fans hope that Matz can come back soon.

If Tampa can keep the wins coming, the Rays will likely be looking for pitching ahead of the trade deadline. So far this year the club has one of the best team ERAs in baseball. Tampa Bay is sixth overall in MLB in team ERA, at 3.67 collectively.

Tampa plays Toronto Tuesday at 6:40 ET. The Rays have nine wins in the last 10 games and are one of the hottest teams in baseball.

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