ST. PETERSBURG -- Jake Odorizzi told reporters on Saturday that he was "back to normal."
The right-hander, who has been on the disabled list with a lower-back strain since July 26 (retroactive to July 25), started on Friday night for Class A Advanced Charlotte and allowed two runs on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts over three innings against Dunedin.
"I'm ready to go," Odorizzi said. "I will be back in there next time my spot comes up, so no more rehab starts. I'm happy."
Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Odorizzi will start the second game of the upcoming Red Sox series on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.
"Odo, his outing was good," Cash said. "He said he felt great, which was a good sign. He hasn't felt that good in a long time."
Cash allowed that the Rays' rotation has "done a good job."
But...
"Saying that, we could really benefit from a 10-game stretch where it seems like everybody is kind of feeding off everybody and getting some strong performances," Cash said.
Cash noted that the Rays have a "good bullpen" that "can complement some of those starts." Odorizzi is 6-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 18 starts for the Rays this season.
"But at the end of the day, we're going to win because our rotation does what it's capable of," Cash said.