Jose

Siri

Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports reports that this is not a disciplinary matter, and that Siri is expected to report back to Rays on Tuesday. Jonny DeLuca is getting the start in center with Siri unavailable.

Siri’s home run was his 17th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off J.T. Chargois in the seventh inning to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. Siri has hit three home runs in his last five games. He’s hitting .195 with a .650 OPS and 43 RBI on the season.

The former top prospect has not lived up to expectations in St. Louis but has been better since being traded to Tampa Bay, slashing .267/.353/.489 with three home runs, nine RBI, and two steals in 15 games. The Rays are currently playing him part-time but not in any sort of strict platoon, so it’s never certain when Carlson was going to be in the lineup. Given that his competition is Jonny DeLuca, Jose Siri, and Kameron Misner, Carlson should probably be given regular starts to see if the 25-year-old can recapture some of his prospect magic.

Siri knocked a base hit in the fifth inning, then came up big for the Rays in the seventh as he took Mitch Spence deep for a go-ahead, two-run blast. It was his second go-ahead homer in as many days. The 29-year-old outfielder is slashing .199/.270/.386 with 16 homers, 42 runs scored, and 12 steals across 373 plate appearances.

Siri’s playing time has been rather stable despite a lackluster season at the plate with a .670 OPS. He’s still chipped in 14 homers and 10 steals though, which is all we can ask for.

Siri opened the scoring in the contest in the second inning when he crushed a 405-foot (108.6 mph EV) leadoff homer off of Mitchell Parker. He then increased the Rays’ advantage with a 428-foot (107.1 mph EV) solo blast off of Jacob Barnes to start the sixth inning that made it a 3-0 ballgame. The dynamic 28-year-old outfielder also worked a walk in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-3. He’s now slashing .219/.300/.423 with 11 homers, 29 RBI and seven stolen bases on the season.

The home run was Siri’s sixth of the year. He’s hitting just .197 on the season and can’t be counted on for batting average. Siri his 25 home runs last year, though. He’s one to keep an eye on if he regains that power stroke this season.

Siri’s second home run was a game-tying blast off Athletics closer Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth inning. The two-homer game gives him a total of just five on the season after hitting 25 in 101 games last year. Siri hit just .222 last season and is at .188 this year so he can’t be counted on for batting average. It’s possible that he could supply a decent amount of power over the course of the rest of the season, though.

Siri played hero twice for the Rays on Wednesday: both on his game-winning hit and in the top of the ninth with a leaping catch at the wall in center field. He’s seen his batting average sink to .180 and OPS to .561 as he fights for playing time with Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios.

It’s the first time since DeLuca came off the IL that someone other than DeLuca or Siri has played center. Richie Palacios has really faded of late, but the Rays are sticking with his left-handed bat for now. It’s DeLuca’s second straight day on the bench, even though he’s hit .261/.370/.478 in 17 games. Much of that production, though, has come versus lefties.