Longoria says hamstring not serious; hopes to play Thursday

Neither the Rays nor Evan Longoria feel that the "twinge" he felt in his previously injured left hamstring was anything serious, with the All-Star third baseman saying he hopes to be back in the lineup Thursday.

Longoria was replaced in the top of the eighth by Willy Aybar after feeling a "twinge" while legging out a double in the sixth. He said he wanted to go back in the field in the seventh to see if it would get worse, and it didn't, and he was encouraged that he felt fine afterwards.

"I felt an opportunity to kind of conserve it,' Longoria said. "I didn't feel the same shooting sharp pain that I did the last time, and that's a good thing."

Manager Joe Maddon said doesn't know if Longoria will play tommorrow, as they'll wait and see how he feels when he comes in. But if he doesn't, Maddon said, "It won't be a prolonged situation."

"I really don't think it's anything serious - honestly I don't," Maddon said.

Longoria missed six starts earlier this month due to tightness in his left hamstring after leaving the June 2nd game.

"It hasn’t realy felt exactly100 percent since I’ve been back, and so I come to expect it," Longoria said. "It's  just been sore, something I’ve been playing through. Like I said in that situation, it's an opportunity to get out and get some ice on it and be good for tomorrow."

Longoria said the hamstring is only sore to the touch, that he can do all his normal stuff, it's just when he really tries to accelerate, he feels it a little bit. "It hasn't acted up in the past three weeks, and that's really the first time I felt something different."

- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com