Thursday, 4 a.m.
He is not what he was, but the old man still has something in his right arm.
Even at the age of 36, Corey Kluber seems to have something left.
No, he isn't the same pitcher as the guy who won two Cy Young Awards. But he's better than the pitcher who entered Wednesday night's game with a personal three-game losing streak.
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Kluber was superb in the Rays' 7-1 victory over Boston, throwing six shutout innings and allowing just three hits in earning the win. It was quite the contrast from his previous outing, when he lasted just three innings and gave up five earned runs.
"He threw a lot of strikes," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "He's a veteran pitcher who knows how to attack. I think he finished with 70 percent strikes thrown. With his stuff in the zone, it’s going to create issues for any offense.
“He’s helped us a lot in division games. You trust him so much. When you continue to pound the strike zone, you're going to have things in your favor."
The Rays' offensive reboot continued in the victory even though two of their hottest hitters -- Harold Ramirez and Isaac Paredes -- didn't play. Still, the Rays scored seven runs on 10 hits and nine walks. In their last six games, even with a two-hit shutout, the Rays have scored 39 runs on 64 hits.
Randy Arozarena had a double and a home run and three RBI in the effort. Yandy Diaz and Josh Lowe also had two hits against Brayan Bello, who was making his major league debut.
"They had a young kid on the mound who has pretty electric stuff," Cash said. "I think we had a solid approach for him."
“Yandy is doing a lot of special things for us. Every at-bat is a challenge for the pitcher. He doesn’t expand. He’s willing to take walks. If he gets to a hitter’s count, he can hit some hard line drives over the park."
The Rays have the day off today, then travel to Cincinnati to start a series. Shane McClanahan will start Friday's 7:10 p.m. game against Luis Castillo.