By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Playing dress-up again
The Rays wore T-shirts and caps repping their favorite domestic automakers on the way home Wednesday, and manager Joe Maddon has bigger plans for their next themed dress-up trip. It'll be "grunge" from Tampa to Seattle, with their shirts "customized" by Johnny Damon in cutting off sleeves, plus "express yourself" with belts, shoes and hats. Then Beach Boys wear, left, from Seattle to Southern California. And pajamas and loungewear for a "sleepover" on a red-eye flight to Baltimore. Damon, who has the sleeves cut off his T-shirts to show off his biceps, was at first taken aback by the assignment but ready for it: "I've got some decent ideas for a few guys."
Today: off
Next game: vs. Indians, 7:10 p.m. Friday, Tropicana Field, Sun Sports, 620-AM.
Starting pitchers
RAYS: LH David Price (5-4, 3.89)
INDIANS: RH Josh Tomlin (6-1, 2.41)
On deck
Saturday: vs. Indians, 4:10, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (5-2, 2.00); Indians — Carlos Carrasco (3-2, 5.16)
Sunday: vs. Indians, 1:40, Sun Sports. Rays — Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 3.14); Indians — Justin Masterson (5-2, 2.50)
Monday: vs. Rangers, 6:40, Sun Sports. Rays — Wade Davis (4-4, 3.71); Rangers — Derek Holland (3-1, 4.68)
Serious business
LHP J.P. Howell took Wednesday's domestic automaker dress-up theme seriously, sporting a Camaro work shirt, stuffing an extra T-shirt in his back jeans pocket to look like a rag and asking anyone who asked about it if they wanted their oil checked. "Got to play the part," Howell said.
Numbers game
The Rays, Yankees and Red Sox all woke up Wednesday with 26 wins. That's only the fourth time since the 1969 start of divisional play that three teams from the same division has the same number of wins on that date:
2002 NL West: Dodgers, Padres, D'backs — 26
1986 AL West: Rangers, Angels, A's — 21
1983 AL East: Brewers, Red Sox, O's — 23
To the Matt
Matt Joyce is still leading the majors in hitting, the latest into a season a Ray has been atop the AL. But his .367 wasn't the highest on May 25 by a Ray: Jason Bartlett was at .373 in '09.
Quote of the day
"Four raindrops hit me in the eye while I was trying to catch a ball. It was terrible. I don't even know why we took the field."
CF B.J. Upton, on playing in the heavy rain before the third-inning postponement