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.

Comments

[Patrick]

This why northern team need domes

[Kris]

Gross and Haynes! We're just giving away outs these days.

[josh]

I'd much rather ahve Gross or Haynes in the lineup than Gomes. It gets pretty ridiculous when a guy goes to the plate every time trying to kill a baseball and send it over the fence. AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT! Listening to the game last night, 2 on, no out, and the Rays radio announcers even said Jonny was the worst guy up because
a. he cant bunt men over
b. he isnt trying to help the TEAM by moving men over or getting base hits
c. he is always a strikeout risk.

This is not a ballplayer that helps a team win, this is a guy who's looking to hit a HR every at bat and that is why he'll never bat above .270

[cowboy john]

I can kind of understand your comment about Gross. He has gotten off to a horrible start. But keep in mind the season is barely a month old and I expect he has a few hundred more at bats to get things worked out. As for Haynes, his average is higher than half the starting lineup, he plays great defense and has four stolen bases a game winning RBI and he NEVER plays. WHATS UP WITH THAT ?

[Scott]

Pena looked like he was running with a piano on his back trying to score on that fly ball to LF. And Manny threw someone out at the plate? Better check him for steroids.

[raysfan]

josh -- good points. but .270??? gomes will be lucky to hit above .230 this year.

[Bodog]

Great observation Scott, Pena is still feeling the effects from that strained hammy. What the hell was Foley thinking - even with Manny making the catch, he should not have sent him, it would have been two outs and Pena still on 3rd,however; I can understand the move - force Manny to make a good toss to the plate - he did. He probably couldn't make that toss 2 out of 3 times if he had to do it again. Just wasn't our nite, hopefully we can take tomorrow's game.

[raysfan]

i hope we can take tomorrow's game (if we even play -- rain is predicted). let's just avoid the sweep. hopefully kazmir will be firing on all cylinders.

[jeff]

ROCKN' WITH KAZMIR