On scene in Oakland ...
The Rays are preparing for what is something of a must-win game in Oakland tonight, having suffered walkoff losses the last two games in St. Louis.
SS Jason Bartlett is back in the linuep, having recovered from the 24-hour flu bug that has been passing through the clubhouse. Manager Joe Maddon decided to go with Eric Hinske in rightfield, even though he was 1-for-15 against Oakland starter Joe Blanton, joking that he took Hinske's word that they were good outs.
The other big pre-game news was that Rays starter James Shields did have an In-N-Out Burger in the clubhouse, which is something of a ritual for him when the team is on the west coast.
Otherwise, here are the lineups:
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Floyd, dh
Navarro, c
Hinske, rf
Bartlett, ss
Shields, rhp
A's
Hannahan, 3b
Crosby, ss
Cust, lf
Thomas, dh
Sweeney, of
Brown, rf
Barton, 1b
Suzuki, c
Petit, 2b
Blanton, p
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frankly it is disgusting that you have the red sox (UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) no-hitter on your front page yet you have no mention of the rays, even if the RAYS game did go late. well guess what -- this is rays country. STOP PANDERING TO OUT OF TOWNERS. THEIR TEAMS ARE _IRRELEVANT_. Thank you and go RAYS.
Posted by: Jed | May 20, 2008 at 02:30 AM
WE WIN IN 13 INNINGS.
Posted by: gorays | May 20, 2008 at 02:09 AM
Darn straight, Steven.
Posted by: Kris | May 19, 2008 at 09:51 PM
Something of a must-win? Apparently Marc is as naive as these Rays are young. It's a long season. They'll be winning streaks and losing streaks. Let's all just take a deep breath.
Posted by: Steven | May 19, 2008 at 09:49 PM