All-Star Evan Longoria picked up where he left off in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup.
MLB Baseball NewsAll-Star Evan Longoria picked up where he left off in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup. And the AL East-leading Rays also fortified their pitching staff Saturday, recalling highly touted prospect David Price from Triple-A Durham.
Longoria went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and made an outstanding play at third base to help the Rays beat the New York Yankees 7-1 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. It was the rookie slugger’s first action since he was hit by J.J. Putz’s pitch on Aug. 7, breaking his right wrist.
Longoria hit a bases-loaded single off Mike Mussina in the fifth inning and made an outstanding diving stop on Xavier Nady’s two-out grounder with two on in the sixth.
“I can’t complain,” Longoria said. “I mean for a first day back I felt as good as I expected and more.”
Rays manager Joe Maddon stuck to his plan despite Longoria’s impressive return, leaving him out of the starting lineup for the second game but remaining open to a pinch-hitting appearance. Depending on how he feels Sunday, Longoria could start the series finale against the Yankees.
“With any kind of injury there’s always going to be some kind of lingering soreness and that’s just the way it is,” Longoria said before the game. “It’s nothing that really hinders me from doing any of my normal stuff but, like I said, that soreness is going to be there probably until I can rest it in the offseason.”
Longoria was one of the leading candidates for AL Rookie of the Year before the injury. He is batting .280 with 22 homers and 73 RBIs, and could give Tampa Bay a big boost if he can quickly return to form.
“That’s kind of unique,” Maddon said. “To be gone that long, and you can talk about the hits all you want but the play down the line versus Nady to me was maybe a turning point in that game. Few guys make that play, and then to throw that accurately, that was a big moment in today’s game.”
Price and outfielder Jonny Gomes joined the team after the Bulls lost to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League championship Friday night. Right-handers Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann also were promoted and will join the team on Monday in Florida.
Price was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt and got a $5.6 million signing bonus and six-year, $11.25 million deal with Tampa Bay last August. He breezed through the Rays’ minor league system, going 12-1 with a 2.30 ERA over three levels this season.
“I don’t expect anything different now,” the lanky left-hander said. “Every day I go out there I expect the best of myself. That’s what everybody in this clubhouse does and that’s why they’ve had so much success this year.”
Price and Gomes flew into New York early Saturday morning and dropped their luggage off at the team hotel before traveling to Yankee Stadium.
“We got here early and I took him onto the field. He was taking pictures with his phone,” Gomes said. “It was awesome to see a guy have that much money and that talented but yet still so excited to be in the big leagues.”
The 23-year-old Price throws in the upper 90s and has a terrific slider, and Maddon said he plans to use him in the bullpen. There’s also a chance he could make a spot start Wednesday against the Red Sox. Tampa Bay has another doubleheader at Baltimore on Sept. 23.
Price didn’t seem too concerned about his role as he explored the visitors’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium and greeted his teammates Saturday morning.
“There’s no level higher than this right here,” he said with a grin. “This is it.”
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 10:30 pm and is filed under MLB Baseball News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
