Glover activated; Birkins sent down

RHP Gary Glover, coming off the DL with shoulder tendonitis, will be activated Monday and be available for the start of a four-game series with the Yankees.

To make room for Glover, the Rays sent down LHP Kurt Birkins.

Glover was 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in nine games before going on a rehab stint. He had some rest, and a cortizone shot, threw for the first time last Wednesday and felt no problems.

Birkins appeared in six games for the Rays, giving up just five hits in 10 innings (.90 ERA).

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

The "streak" ends; Floyd returns to lineup

Update 2:32 pm: The Rays scoreless streak ends at 24 after Vladimir Gurrerro hit a bloop, RBI single with two outs in the third. That was 25 straight scoreless frames for starters, and 33 overall at the Trop.

The Rays will play a Mother's Day matinee today with the Angels, going for a sweep (and third straight shutout) of one of the American League's top teams.

Their lineup features a twist, with DH Cliff Floyd making his first start since early April; he was activated from the DL Saturday after rehabbing from right knee surgery. And there could be more wounded Rays back soon, with INF Ben Zobrist and RHP Gary Glover possibly activated Monday.

Zobrist, on the DL since fracturing his left thumb in spring training, will get pins removed Monday morning, and though he said doctors told him he could play the same day, he'll wait for word from the Rays.

Glover (shoulder tendonitis) played catch today at the Trop and felt good, and could be activated tommorrow.

There will be plenty of pink bats to go around today, in honor of Mother's Day/Breast Cancer Awareness Day....

Here's the lineups.

Angels
Willits DH
Aybar SS
Guerrero RF
Anderson LF
Hunter CF
Kotchman 1B
Quinlan 3B
Mathis C
Rodriguez 2B
Santana P

Rays
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Floyd DH
Navarro C
Gross RF
Bartlett SS
Sonnanstine P

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Glover close to return

Rays relievers Gary Glover and Al Reyes each threw a bullpen session this afternoon at the Trop, both feeling really good, according to manager Joe Maddon.

Though Reyes (shoulder impingement) is scheduled to throw in an extended spring game Monday, Maddon said Glover (right shoulder tendinitis) will be re-evaluated again tommorrow and is very close to being activated.

Today marks the second start of the season for ace LHP Scott Kazmir, who spent the first month of the season on the disabled list with a left elbow strain. Kazmir will look to bounce back from a tough season debut, giving up four runs in four innings against Boston at Fenway.

DH Cliff Floyd was activated but won't start, though Maddon said he is available to pinch-hit.

Rays

Iwamura, 2b

Crawford, lf

Upton, cf

Pena, 1b

Longoria, 3b

Navarro, c

Gomes, dh

Hinske, rf

Bartlett, ss

Kazmir, P

ANGELS
Matthews, cf

Aybar, ss

Guerrero, rf

Hunter, dh

Rivera, lf

Napoli, c

Kotchman, 1b

Wood, 3b

Roddriguez, 2b

Saunders, LHP

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Haynes gone, Floyd back

The Rays activated DH Cliff Floyd after Friday's game and made room on the roster by designating for assignment OF Nathan Haynes.
Floyd, who had right knee surgery April 11, looked impressive in a workout before Friday's game. He won't start Saturday against Angels lefty Joe Saunders, but will be available to pinch-hit.
Haynes had played sparingly since the acquisition of Gabe Gross. The Rays have 10 days to trade, release or pass him through waivers to send him to Triple-A Durham.

Floyd could return Sunday

The pre-game news prior to tonight's matchup with the Rays and Angels is that DH Cliff Floyd, coming off knee surgery just four weeks ago, could return as early as Sunday.

Manager Joe Maddon was very pleased with Floyd's batting practice session Friday at the Trop, but wanted to chat with Floyd and the team's medical staff before inserting him back in. As for Floyd, chomping at the bit after a DL stint and a few appearances at extended spring, he feels he's "ready" to go.

"I'm in a rush," Floyd said. "I don't know if they're in a rush. I want to get back. It's been four weeks today. I'm just anxious to get back with my boys and sit on the bench and be part of the team. I want to feel like I'm contributing in some way, whether it's good or bad. I just want to contribute. I want to be a big part of this."

The Rays returned pretty pleased with their lengthy road trip, winning two of the three series in a nine-game swing, including what they hope is a momentum-building 13-inning win Thursday over Toronto.

Tampa Bay takes on an Angels team that's one of the AL's best, having won six of nine. Should be a great pitching matchup, with James Shields taking on Jon Garland.

Rays

Rays:
Iwamura, 2B
Crawford, LF
Upton, CF
Pena, 1B
Longoria, 3B
Hinske, DH
Navarro, C
Gross, RF
Bartlett, SS

Shields, P

ANGELS
Matthews, RF
Aybar, SS
Guerrero, DH
Anderson, LF
Hunter, CF
Kotchman, 1B
Napoli, C
Wood, 3B
Rodriguez, 2B

Garland, P

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

North of the border, the finale

Struggling 3B Evan Longoria is out of the Rays lineup tonight, though also-struggling 1B Carlos Pena is playing. LF Carl Crawford is getting a "mini-day off" by being the DH with Nathan Haynes in left.
Manager Joe Maddon said Longoria, 4-for-29 on the road trip and his average down to .221, looked like he needed a break. "I wanted to give him a day off,'' Maddon said. "He's pressing a bit and I wanted to back him off a little bit.''
Longoria will be available to pinch-hit and as a defensive replacement for Eric Hinske, who is starting at third. He said the day off probably was a good idea.
Pena, whose average is down to .200 after 10 strikeouts in his last 12 at-bats, will stay in the lineup after he and Maddon had a long talk following Wednesday's game. "We had a nice conversation yesterday and I'm looking forward to seeing him play today,'' Maddon said.
The rehab report is about the same, with DH Cliff Floyd (right knee surgery) having another good day in extended spring training and likely to take BP at the Trop on Friday. INF Ben Zobrist (fractured left thumb) is playing again tonight for Class A Vero in Lakeland.

The lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford. dh
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Hinske, 3b
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Haynes, lf
Bartlett, ss
Jackson, p

North of the border, again

The Rays are feeling pretty good about things going into the second game of their series with the Blue Jays, having won Tuesday's opener. Manager Joe Maddon is trotting out the same lineup tonight (see below) but with Matt Garza on the mound.

Most of the injury news is the same as Tuesday, though it appears RHP Gary Glover will need a few more days beyond Saturday, when he is eligible to come off the DL. INF Ben Zobrist is playing the first of four rehab games tonight for Class A Vero in Lakeland.

There was off-field news, though, and it involves .... Loverboy. The 1980s rock band has been added to the team's summer concert series and will be working for the weekend following the July 5 game with Kansas City. Also added was Latin Grammy winner Gilberto Santa Rosa, on June 14. The series kicks off May 24 with the Commodores.

And a couple of interesting statistical notes:

* Troy Percival is now alone in 10th place on the alltime saves list with 331. Rollie Fingers is 9th with 341.
* Since coming out of retirement June 26, 2007, with St. Louis, Percival has compiled a 1.42 ERA (allowing 8 runs in 51 innings over 48 appearances) while allowing only a .149 average. He has had 45 scorless innings and 27 hitless. Only two other relievers with at least 50 innings pitched have lower ERAs (J.C. Romero 1.08 and Joe Nathan 1.18) and none have allowed a lower batting average.
* Andy Sonnanstine has 10 wins since Aug. 15, only Arizona's Brandon Webb and the Yankees Chien-Ming Wang have more.
* Eric Hinske goes into play tonight leading the AL with a .622 slugging percentage.

The Jays plugged their hole at shortstop with a familiar face, bringing in ex-Ray Jorge Velandia.

As for tonight's lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Hisnke, dh
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Bartlett, ss
Garza, p

North of the border

(Update, 6:05) Most of manager Joe Maddon's pre-game media session involved medical updates, and for the most part the news was good, with the possibility that, if all continues to go well, DH Cliff Floyd, INF Ben Zobrist and RHPs Al Reyes and Gary Glover could all be activated on the next homestand.

There is another feature today on the Rays' resurgence on espn.com as well.

Otherwise, the Rays are eager to get back on the field having been swept at Boston and having Monday off. CF B.J. Upton is still working through issues related to his left shoulder strain, and until he swings hard and misses neither he nor the Rays know how it will feel:
The lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Hinske, dh
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Bartlett, ss
Sonnanstine, p

After a sun-drenched Monday off-day, the forecast in Toronto looks like rain, which just seems to be following the Rays wherever they go. The good news, of course, is that the Rogers Centre has a roof, and it's expected to be closed, especially with a forecast low tonight of 7 degrees .... celsius, which is about 45 fahrenheit.

With Cliff Floyd on the way back to take over DH duties, which will put Eric Hinske in righfield more often and likely make Gabe Gross the top reserve, the Rays' roster may be set for a while. But if they are looking for an alternative, three veteran outfielders have all become available in the last few days: Jacque Jones, by Detroit; Jason Michaels (a Tampa product), by Cleveland; and Brad Wilkerson (former Florida Gator), by Seattle.

Here's more on the Tigers' decision on Jones. Both he and Michaels could be of some interest to the Rays since both can play centerfield if needed. Here's more on the Indians' decision on Michaels.

Ray of hope?

Update 3:32 Kazmir's day is done after four innings as he threw 90 pitches. With a limit of 100 there was no point in sending him out for the fifth. Kazmir allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks. Update, 3:05 LHP Scott Kazmir hasn't been particularly sharp in his return, throwing 74 pitches in his first three innings and allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He's also thrown a wild pitch, and another that glanced off Shawn Riggans' glove for a passed ball. Kazmir has been clocked mostly in the 89-91 mph range, though did hit as high as 93. The Rays got two bad breaks early - Jacoby Ellsbury, who went into the lineup when David Ortiz went out, made a running catch in the first inning to rob Evan Longoria of a two-run double that regular LF Manny Ramirez would not have caught. And Jonny Gomes hit a second-inning drive that clearly hit the yellow stripe in the leftfield corner, and would have been a double, but was called foul.

Update, 1:18 A break for the Rays - the Sox just scratched David Ortiz from their lineup due to tightness in his right knee. Jacoby Ellsbury will play left, with Manny Ramirez taking over at DH. The new Sox lineup is below. The Sox are already shorthanded, having not made a move to replace OF Brandon Moss, who had his appendix removed during Saturday night's game.

Update, 1:05 Not only does it look like there will be a game today, but it apparently will start on time and should be play uninterrupted as the rain has cleared out.

The Rays will have B.J. Upton back in the lineup, though there is still some concern how his strained left shoulder will feel on a swing and miss. And of course the big news is they will have Scott Kazmir back on the mound for his first start of the season.

The lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Gomes, dh
Hinske, rf
Riggans, c
Bartlett, ss
Kazmir, p

Boston
Ellsbury, lf
Pedroia, 2b
Youkilis, 1b
Ramirez, dh
Lowell, 3b
Varitek, c
Drew, rf
Crisp, cf
Lugo, ss
Lester, p

It is cold and wet - again - in Boston this morning, but what was once a horrible forecast has been upgraded and it now seems possible, and even likely according to the smiling local TV weather folks, that today's game will be played. The forecast is that the rain will be down to a drizzle by the scheduled 1:35 start time. It is still cold, however: 46 a little after 10 this morning, with a windchill of 41.
The Rays leave after the game, or the postponement announcement, for Toronto with an off-day on Monday. The Sox play in Detroit Monday so they may be eager to make a decision if the rain is going to be an issue.

Back at Fenway; Upton out

(Update 5:45:)  CF B.J. Upton is not in the lineup tonight, telling manager Joe Maddon he'd benefit from one more day to recover from the left shoulder strain that forced him from Thursday's game. He is available to pinch-hit tonight, and says he expects to play Sunday.
With Upton out, the Rays are forced to use Nathan Haynes in centerfielder and Gabe Gross in right, with Eric Hinske as the DH and No. 3 hitter.

The report on RHP Al Reyes was good, with the Rays saying the MRI showed biceps tendinitis and they expect him to miss only a few weeks at the most. That will depend on how he responds to rest and how he feels when he starts playing catch, probably on Monday.

LHP Scott Kazmir is excited about returning to the mound on Sunday and said feels fine, though figures to be a bit amped up, as he always is pitching at Fenway Park anyway.

The lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Hinske, dh
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Haynes, cf
Bartlett, ss

The good news from Boston is that the all-day rain has subsided, the tarp is off the field and the Red Sox and Rays are expected to start playing on time tonight. The bad news is that the forecast for Sunday is horrible, with an 80-percent chance of rain that is expected to fall much of the day.

The Rays may have an update on RHP Al Reyes, who was to have his right shoulder chekced by Dr. Koco Eaton today in St. Petersburg.