Tampabay.com
JUNE 08, 2008

Steamy Sunday in Texas with no Floyd

The late afternoon start only makes it slightly more tolerable as gametime temperature likely will still be in the mid-90s as the Rays seek to sweep the Rangers before departing for California.

The Rays will do so without Cliff Floyd, who manager Joe Maddon decided to keep on the bench again in favor of playing Willy Aybar at first base, with Eric Hinske as the DH. Maddon said there was nothing physically wrong with Floyd, that it was more a matter of wanting to keep Aybar, who is 5-for-17 with four doubles since coming off the DL, involved. Floyd, on the other hand, is 1-for-12 on the road trip.

Jonny Gomes will serve the second day of his five-game suspension. Otherwise all seems good for the Rays. The Rangers are even doing them a favor, resting MLB RBIs leader Josh Hamilton and always tough SS Michael Young. Here are the lineups:

Rays
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Hinkse, dh
Longoria, 3b
Aybar, 1b
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Bartlett, ss
Garza, p

Rangers
Kinsler, 2b
Catalanotto, 1b
Murphy, rf
Bradley, dh
Boggs, lf
Byrd, cf
Laird, c
Vazquez, ss
Duran, 3b
Mathis, p

Join the discussion: Click to view comments, add yours

Advertisement


Meet the Rays

show linked image Joe Maddon, Johnny Damon and Evan Longoria are only some of the Rays you'll meet through our new video interview series. Don't see your favorite player yet? Check back often, as we'll add to the series as the season progresses.

Baseball Headlines from AP

Comment Policy

Please be sure your comments are appropriate before submitting them. Inappropriate comments include content that:
Is libelous
Is abusive, harassing, or threatening
Is obscene, vulgar, or profane
Is racially, ethnically or religiously offensive
Is illegal or encourages criminal acts
Is known to be inaccurate or contains a false attribution
Infringes copyrights, trademarks, publicity or any other rights of others
Impersonates anyone (actual or fictitious)
Solicits funds, goods or services, or advertises
The Tampa Bay Times does not edit posts but reserves the right to delete comments that violate our policy.