Remaining exhibition games
All games 1:05 unless noted
March
23: vs. Twins
24: at Yankees
25: vs. Pirates, 7:05
26: at Phillies
27: vs. Jays
28: at Orioles, 7:05
29: at Tigers
30: vs. Tigers at Trop, 1:10
Quote of the day
"It hasn't been a very good day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
LHP David Price, after his rain-shortened, messy, dangerous minor-league outing.
Familiar faces
Two of the Tigers' scheduled relievers used to be with the Rays: LHP Darin Downs was in their minor-league system from 2008-10 and got to Triple A before leaving as a free agent; LHP Kyle Lobstein was a 2008 second-round pick who had gotten to Double A and was taken in the December Rule 5 draft by the Mets then sent to the Tigers.
Shifty moves
The Rays' Joe Maddon was one of the leaders in using defensive shifts, so when he bemoans how prevalent they have become you could make the case that it's his fault. "It was fun while it lasted," Maddon said. "You're going to see more and more and more of it, which is no fun to watch. So we have to continue to try to stay a step ahead of all this."
Who is this Ray?
He played Little League in Houston with ex-Ray Carl Crawford and Michael Bourn. Made his big-league debut with White Sox. Was last player to get his first big-league hit at old Yankee Stadium. Played in majors for four teams.
The dish
Rays at Tigers
When/where: 1:05 today, Joker Marchant Stadium, 2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd., Lakeland
Tickets: $15-35, available through tigers.com, 1-866-668-4437 (1-866-66-TIGER).
Pitchers: Rays — Jeremy Hellickson, Kyle Farnsworth, Dane De La Rosa, Will Inman, J.D. Martin; Tigers — Doug Fister, Kyle Lobstein, Luke Putkonen, Darin Downs, Phil Coke
Heads-up
Ben Zobrist (in his first post-WBC action), Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings are among front-line players in the lineup.
On deck
Wednesday: at Twins (Fort Myers), 7:05. Rays — Matt Moore; Twins — Mike Pelfrey
Thursday: Blue Jays, 1:05. Rays — Roberto Hernandez; Jays — TBA
Friday: Orioles, 1:05. Rays — TBA; Orioles — TBA. At Pirates, 1:05. Rays — TBA; Pirates — TBA
Who is this Ray: OF Jason Bourgeois
Follow our coverage all spring on The Heater blog (tampabay.com/blogs/rays) and on Twitter @TBTimes_Rays.
WBC memories
Among Ben Zobrist's WBC memories was facing, and striking out against, Rays teammate Fernando Rodney in the ninth inning of the Dominican Republic-U.S. game: "I was thinking of taking him yard 2-0 but I thought it's not going to help anything, (the score) is 3-1 right now, one run isn't going to do anything so I figured I would take one, and I regretted that later in the at-bat," Zobrist said. "He got pretty nasty later on. I thought the 3-2 pitch, first of all I couldn't have touched it where he put it, it was a great spot, but I thought it was a ball, but it was strike three and I walked back to the dugout. "Next thing I know the arrow is being shot in the air and another patented Fernando Rodney/Rays moment there."
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