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The Rays will cap off a three-game series with the Orioles today at Tropicana Field, with touted rookie RHP Jeremy Hellickson going for his third win in three big league starts.

On the injury front, manager Joe Maddon remains optimistic that, if all goes well tonight with 1B Carlos Pena (right foot) playing for Class-A Charlotte, he’ll be activated Monday and play against the Rangers. Pena is scheduled to get 2-3 at-bats and play first base.

*RHP Jeff Niemann and RHP Wade Davis, both on the DL with right shoulder strains, played catch again today, and both will throw bullpen sessions Monday, which Maddon said will be telling whether they’ll be returning on time. Niemann said he’s feeling good, and Monday’s pen will just be a matter of seeing where his pitches are at, how he feels with them. But they’re still targeting a return in Anaheim Aug. 23-25.

Rays lineup
jaso c
zobrist 2b
Crawford lf
Longoria 3b
Joyce rf
Aybar dh
Johnson 1b
Upton cf
Bartlett ss
hellickson rhp

Orioles
lugo 2b
Markakis rf
Wigginton 1b
Scott dh
Jones cf
Pie lf
Fox 3b
Izturis ss
Tatum c
 


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UPDATE, 5:55: Pena said his right foot feels very good and he doesn’t expect to be limited in any way (in terms of needed days off or DHing rather than playing first) going forward. Manager Joe Maddon said they will monitor him and it’s possible Dan Johnson could play first some days with Pena at DH.

"Can’t wait to get out there,” Pena said. "I feel good, we’re just going to keep on progressing, being smart with all of the treatment, all the necessary exercises I need to keep myself ready. I should just keep on progressing and shouldn’t have any type of difficulty doing that. I don’t expect anything to go wrong; on the other hand I expect everything to go very smoothly.”

UPDATE, 5:50: Niemann and Davis both did well in throwing 40-plus pitches in their bullpen sessions and, with another bullpen Wednesday and a sim game on Friday in Oakland, are on schedule to return. As of now, it would be Davis Aug. 24th in Anaheim and Niemann on the 25th.

UPDATE, 4:15: Kapler said he sustained mild sprain in Saturday play at plate with Orioles’ Wieters, and it’s best to address it now.

UPDATE, 4:05:  Kapler goes on 15-day DL with right ankle sprain.

UPDATE, 3:52: Kapler is here in clubhouse, said he’ll talk to media shortly, went back to trainers’ room. DL seems likely.

UPDATE, 3:40: Carlos Pena is back from the DL and in the Rays lineup, and Gabe Kapler is off the roster, but no word yet on the details of the move.

Rays lineup:
Upton cf,
Bartlett ss,
Crawford lf,
Longoria 3b,
Pena 1b,
Rodriguez 2b,
Zobrist rf,
Aybar dh,
Shoppach c,
Price p

DEVELOPING: There’s plenty going on at Tropicana Field today, starting with the potential playoff preview of the Rays hosting the Rangers, and a marquee matchup of starting pitchers Cliff Lee and David Price.

There’s also the possibility of a roster move, as the Rays may reinstate 1B Carlos Pena from the DL (which might lead to the departure of OF Gabe Kapler). There’s the bullpen sessions for injured RHPs Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann that will factor heavily into when they can return to the rotation. There’s the looming midnight deadline to sign top draft pick Josh Sale and supplemental round pick Drew Vettleson. And there’s the return of one-time top prospect Josh Hamilton (as well as ex-Ray Jorge Cantu).

 Here’s the Rangers lineup:
Andrus ss
Young 3b
Hamilton cf
Guerrero dh
Cantu 1b
B. Molina c
Murphy lf
Boggs rf
Blanco 2b
Lee p

 

 


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  The Rays will travel west in interesting style this week, each player sporting a new custom-designed and custom- made BRayser - a combo of Rays and blazer.

  Manager Joe Maddon has organized several themed road trips, but has been looking forward to this one, which has been in the works for months.

 "The BRaysers are in, they’re fabulous, they met with everybody’s approval,” Maddon said. "We’re going to wear them on this trip - the team BRayser.”

 

 

 

- MARC TOPKIN


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There is still no word from the team but Baseball America is reporting the Rays signed top draft pick OF Josh Sale (for .62-million) and supplemental round selection OF Drew Vettleson (for 5,000).


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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price talks about the big matchup with Cliff Lee and the bigger win over the Rangers.

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Tampa Bay Rays 2B Sean Rodriguez tries to explain how Vlad Guerrero’s hard-hit ground ball ended up inside his jersey during the sixth inning Monday.

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UPDATE, 11:20 A.M.: And with the press release from the Rays comes this quote from scouting director R.J. Harrison: "It was a long arduous process, but in the end we’re happy to have two players that we have liked very much for a couple of years now join our organization. We look forward to getting them into Rays gear and getting them started in professional baseball.”

Because the two high school outfielders took so long to sign, it seems unlikely they will play in what’s left of the minor league season, so it may be the fall instructional league before they take the field.

DEVELOPING: The Rays didn’t make it official until around 2:20 a.m., but the deals to sign top choice Josh Sale and supplemental round pick Drew Vettleson were done by baseball’s midnight deadline.

”We’re pleased to announce the signings of Josh Sale and Drew Vettleson,” executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "We feel like both players add a lot to our system in terms of their advanced feel for hitting. We’re anxious to get both guys out in Rays gear and get the process started on them becoming major-league players.’’

Sale posted on his Facebook page at about 1:20 a.m.: "It’s official. I’m a Ray!"

Baseball America reported earlier that the two outfielders were signed, with Sale, the No. 17 overall pick, getting .62-million and Vettleson, 42nd overall, 5,000.

The Rays did not come to terms with fourth-round pick RHP Austin Wood (of St. Petersburg College) and 7th-rounder OF Michael Lorenzen, but did sign the rest of their top 10 selections. 


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UPDATE, 5:52: Manager Joe Maddon said 1B Carlos Pena came through his first game from the DL with no problems with his right foot, and Pena said the same thing. Maddon also said RHPs Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann reacted well to their Monday bullpen sessions and will throw again Wednesday, with the plan to throw a simulated game Friday in Oakland and then rejoin the rotation next Tuesday and Wednesday in Anaheim.

UPDATE, 3:27: Here is the Rays lineup, with Dan Johnson taking what will now be a somewhat regular turn as the DH against righthanders.

Jaso c
Zobrist 2b
Crawford lf
Longoria 3b
Pena 1b
Joyce rf
Johnson dh
Upton cf
Bartlett ss
Garza p

DEVELOPING: After moving back into a tie for first place on Monday night, the Rays are getting ready to again face the Rangers, who will be without 3B Michael Young tonight. 

Before looking ahead to tonight’s game, here are a few tidbits from Monday night courtesy of ESPN, and the Elias Sports Bureau:

* Before the Rays got five hits off Cliff Lee in the 8th inning, he had allowed only four in the 8th inning (4-for-21) since joining the Rangers.

* Before the Rays scored  their four runs off Lee, he had allowed only four earned runs in the 8th inning all season in 15.1 innings.

* Lee is now 2-4 in eight starts with a 3.92 ERA against the AL East this year (8-2, 2.06 ERA in his other 13 starts). Also, the Rangers have lost five of the eight games Lee has started.

* Monday was the fifth game in 2010 that Carlos Pena had a go-ahead RBI in the 7th inning or later. But also, entering the game, Pena had been batting .128 (5-for-39) in Late-Inning Pressure Situations. But also, of Pena’s 15 RBI since the All-Star break, seven have put the Rays ahead in a game.

* And one more Cliff Lee note from the Rangers PR staff - Lee set a modern major-league record by registering his 143rd strikeout of the season before issuing his 10th walk. Curt Schilling notched 140 Ks for Arizona in 2002 before his 10th walk.

Here is the Rangers lineup, with the unusual positioning of Vlad Guerrero in rightfield and Josh Hamilton at DH:

Andrus ss
Borbon cf
Hamilton dh
Guerrero rf
Murphy lf
Cantu 3b
B. Molina c
Moreland 1b
Blanco 2b
Hunter p

 


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Draft picks Josh Sale (he’s first) and Drew Vettleson talk about signing with the Rays just before Monday’s deadline and the excitement of going pro.

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