Cash reveals Rays' Opening Day lineup

Manager likes Morrison in No. 2 spot; Conger to start behind the plate

April 1st, 2016

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Rays manager Kevin Cash on Friday morning announced his Opening Day lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field (4:05 p.m. ET).
Here's the group Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman will be facing
Logan Forsythe, 2B
Logan Morrison, 1B
Evan Longoria, 3B
Corey Dickerson, DH
Desmond Jennings, LF
Brad Miller, SS
Steven Souza Jr., RF
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Hank Conger, C
Chris Archer will serve as the starting pitcher.
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Cash said the Rays have a number of players who can hit second, but they opted for Morrison in the opener.
"There wasn't a specific reason why, other than we like him hitting at the top," Cash said. "We view him as a really good bat, and we want him to get as many at-bats as possible. ... We think he's going to be on base for us a lot."

The idea of batting Jennings in the middle of the order dates back to last spring.
"When D.J. and I talked, the thought was to move him into the middle of the order rather than lead him off," Cash said. "And that same thought still applies."
Finally, in regard to Conger getting the start at catcher over Curt Casali:
"Obviously we're going to play some matchups," Cash said. "Stroman is a very good pitcher. And we like how Hank has handled the bat -- especially against righties. He's actually come on strong.
"What he's done on the back field, where we were trying to get him at-bats, he's swinging the bat really well. I spoke with Arch. He's very comfortable speaking to both of them. So that was basically it. Curt's going to play quite a bit."