Rays pitcher Jesse Crain threw 20 pitches in an instructional-league game Thursday and could be activated from the disabled list Friday, MLB.com reports. Even if Crain is activated Friday, he would likely not pitch until Saturday at the earliest after Thursday's session.
"I feel comfortable," Crain told MLB.com Thursday. "I threw strikes with all my pitches, which is the biggest thing to tell if I'm close to being ready or not. Ultimately, it's going to come down to what [the Rays] want to do, also. You want them to feel comfortable with me going into a game. Obviously that goes for me, too. I feel like as soon as I get into a game, I have to be a step above where I am. We'll just see how I feel tomorrow, and hopefully all is well and we'll make that next step."
Crain hasn't pitched since late June due to a shoulder strain. He's 2-3 with a 0.74 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 46:11 K:BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings.