This must have been Brendan McKay’s moment.
Tonight, the Rays will begin with Andrew Kittredge – the night after he deserved a save – in the role of an Opener. Kittredge steps into the lock that was rescued by Yonny Chirinos, who went to the injured list with a strain of triceps that is not being taken seriously.
Also on the injured list is starter Day starter Charlie Morton, who has not shown the same goodness as his Cy Young contending campaign of 2019. After four appearances, he was sidelined mid-start with shoulders and back ailments. So is life this season, where COVID-19 prevented a normal start to the season.
Brendan McKay missed the vast majority of Summer Camp because of his own need to recover from the virus. The young two-way starter had balanced his own shoulder injury with a six-day pitching schedule that saw him perform well for the Rays last season.
2019: 13 G, 11 GS, 25.9 K%, 7.4 BB%, 4.03 FIP
Now that he’s on the alternative training side for the Rays, that shoulder problem has reappeared, and McKay has become the third Rays starter to be shut down.
#Rays Cash said Brendan McKay has been shut down due to shoulder irritation.
– Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) 11 August 2020
#Rays Cash said team not sure McKay ever got past issue of shoulder last season, that his build-up to the post-COVID-19 went well, then he felt tightness: “We’ll see how that kind of ” He’s had some of these problems in the past, and we just want to do good through him. ”
– Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) 11 August 2020
Instead, the Rays will rely on Jalen Beeks and Trevor Richards for the night, and may also call up Anthony Banda in short order. No one has the same promise as McKay, the former fourth overall draft pick in 2017, but everyone should be service-minded against thanking Red Sox.
As for McKay, after falling one inning within the limits of rookie in 2019, it is unlikely that he will do so again in 2020.
