Tampa Bay going with same 1-2 punch

The Rays aren’t messing with a good thing. They’ll begin the next round of the postseason the same way they did in the wildcard round with Blake Snell starting Game 1 against the Yankees on Monday night in the American League Division Series and Tyler Glasnow starting Game 2.

That means Game 3 starter Charlie Morton will have 11 days of rest in between appearances, but it also means Glasnow and Snell could be available later in the series.

“We’re going to go Blake, Tyler, Charlie — 1, 2, 3 — and then we’ll see where we end up. Thought it was important to do what we could to keep Blake and Tyler on somewhat of a normal routine, and we were able to accomplish that,” manager Kevin Cash said Saturday from San Diego. “And then with Charlie . I personally don’t feel the extra rest is going to be a negative. I think its going to be a positive for him.”

The Rays are remaining flexible on potential starters for Games 4 and 5, although Cash said it was possible Snell could come back on short rest in Game 5. Other possibilities include Ryan Yarbrough and rookie Josh Fleming, neither of whom faced the Yankees in 2020, working as either traditional starters or in bulk roles.

Tampa Bay had a similar plan against the Astros in the Division Series last season, with Snell working as the closer on two days rest in Game 4 and coming back again in relief after one day of rest in Game 5. The difference, however, is the 2019 ALDS had two off-days. The Yankees series could potentially be five games in five days.

Cash said the decision on starters for Games 4 and 5 would depend on how many innings Snell and Glasnow throw in the first two games, as well as who was available in the bullpen.

Outfielder Austin Meadows, who has been out since Sept. 17 with an oblique strain, was scheduled to have a normal workout Saturday night in San Diego and then join Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz for a simulated game to get extra at-bats.

Checking out their new home: As part of the oddity of the 2020 postseason format, the Rays had to wait to move into the Petco Park home clubhouse on Saturday until the actual home team Padres moved out and headed to Texas for their NL Division Series.

From there it was a matter of getting familiar with the facility and especially the nuances of the field, such as the feel of the mound, look of the hitter’s backdrop, how the infield plays, where the ball carries best.