Taylor Walls rejoins Rays lineup, Chandler Simpson exits due to thumb

MIAMI - The Rays got shortstop Taylor Walls back in the lineup Friday for his first appearance since Monday but lost speedy leftfielder Chandler Simpson, who left in the third inning due to a sore and swollen left thumb.

Simpson said he first injured the thumb during Wednesday's game, then aggravated it his first at-bat Friday. He left after the second, with his status considered day to day.

"When I took a swing (Wednesday) it got jammed real bad, and then it happened (Friday) as well," Simpson said. "I just felt it flare up and (get) inflamed a little bit when I hit a foul ball. ... It's just discomfort in the joint area."

Simpson has had a rough stretch.

He had to leave Monday's game against the Tigers after his helmet fell off as he slid into second base and gashed his lower lip badly enough to require stitches.

With two groundouts before his departure Friday, Simpson extended his hitting skid to 1-for-21 over his last six games.

Since leaving a game May 11 in Toronto with a left hamstring issue the team attributed to cramping, Simpson is hitting .211 and has not stolen a base while being thrown out four times. His average is down to .276, his on-base percentage to .309.

"I'm feeling good, I've just got to stay in my approach, just continue to know who I am, continue to make adjustments and continue to take it one pitch, one (at-bat) at a time," Simpson said. "They'll fall at some point."

With the added benefit of a team off day on Thursday, Walls returned to the lineup Friday after sitting out most of the previous three games. It was a good thing for the Rays' efforts to prevent runs.

Now the challenge for Walls will be to find the right level of effort and exertion to play at his usual elite level while allowing the tightness in his left hamstring to subside and whatever is causing it to heal.

"It definitely feels better than it did," Walls said before going 1-for-4 in the 6-0 win. "It's just that with a tissue injury kind of thing, things come up kind of unexpected. You try to just play it by ear the best you can, take care of it the best you can, try to stay off of it as much as you can.

"So I try to switch up the routine a little bit before the game, try to stay off my feet a little more, use it only when necessary, and hopefully over the next few days, weeks it'll kind of fade off."

Walls said there is also a mental balance required in terms of how much to think and worry about the issue.

"It's tough," he said. "When the game comes and the speed of the game comes, it gets easier to just kind of forget it's there. But as far as, like, trying to not guard it or figure out what you need to do to make it better or go away or whatever, it's just one of those things where it's kind of a puzzle you never really figure out.

"You just do what you think you need to do, with advice from the staff and stuff to try to take care of it as much as possible, and hopefully it plays out in your favor. You can't really control if a freak play happens or if a certain play happens where you may use it in a way that you didn't really anticipate using it in that form or scenario and then maybe it restrains itself. Who knows?"

Ideally, Walls said, they find middle ground.

"Hopefully right now we've got it in a spot where I can do everything that I need to do unlimited," he said, "and just do what I've got to do before the game to take care of it."

Return of the Mac

Shane McClanahan starts on Saturday for the Rays, having gone 5-0 with a 1.22 ERA over his last seven, allowing no earned runs five times, one once and four once.

"I'm just competing, and I really think that's it," he said of his return after missing two-plus seasons with injury. "It's been probably the biggest thing that I can give myself credit for.

"I might not have the best stuff I've shown this year maybe compared to the last couple years, but I think the way I've been able to go out there and just compete and attack each day and just trust the guys behind me has been light years better than where it was."

Miscellany

Right-hander Lake Bachar will start for the Marlins on Saturday. ... Michael Forret of Double-A Montgomery was named the Rays' top minor-league pitcher for May, High-A Bowling Green infielder Emilien Pitre the top player. ... As part of MLB's PLAY BALL Weekend, the Rays Baseball Magic Clinic will be held Saturday at Tropicana Field for players from the Buddy Baseball and A League Of Their Own Tampa programs, which are noncompetitive recreational leagues serving individuals with unique abilities. … Bucs top draft pick Rueben Bain Jr. is slated to throw the ceremonial first pitch before Monday's game vs. Boston.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 9:42 PM.