LEADING OFF

RAYS OF HOPE: Dan Jennings walked into the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse, saw Logan Morrison walk by and gave his old Miami Marlins teammate a poke on the arm. Morrison did a double take and gave the pitcher a hug.

Rays reinforcements arrive daily.

Tampa Bay acquired Jennings from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday to boost the left side of the bullpen and obtained first baseman Lucas Duda from the New York Mets. The Rays sent first baseman Casey Gillaspie, the 20th overall draft pick in 2014, to the White Sox and righthander Drew Smith, a thirdround selection two years ago, to the Mets.

The Rays, 2½ games out of first in the AL East, are trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. They obtained infielder Trevor Plouffe from Oakland on June 17, infielder Adeiny Hechavarria from the Marlins on June 26 and right-hander Sergio Romo from the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 23.

“This has been a great group to watch play and to play themselves into the position that we’re in,” Tampa Bay senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said. “We believe in these guys and we really like these group, and we want to keep sending them reinforcements to show them that we want to do everything we can to help them get where they’re trying to go.”

CHARGING BACK:

Houston manager A.J. Hinch said he expects Alex Bregman (right hamstring) back in the lineup tonight in Detroit. The Albuquerque Academy alumnus injured himself while legging out a triple in the first inning of Tuesday’s 5-0 win at Philadelphia.