By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Friday, May 27, 2011
Rays vs. Indians
When/where: 4:10 today; Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Tickets: $17-$275 at Tropicana Field box office, Ticketmaster, raysbaseball.com, team store in Tampa, $3 surcharge within five hours of game.
Promotion: Avril Lavigne postgame concert
Scheduled starters:
Rays
RH James Shields (5-2, 2.00)
Indians
RH Carlos Carrasco (3-2, 5.16)
Watch for ...
Rolling in: Shields is coming off his third complete game. He is the only AL pitcher to rank in the top five in ERA (4th, 2.00), innings (4th, 76⅔) and strikeouts (2nd, 77). His May 12 win over the Indians was his first in seven tries.
Another C.C.: Carrasco has won his past two starts since being knocked around by the Rays in his May 11 return from the disabled list (elbow), allowing four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings.
Key matchups
Rays vs. Carrasco
Johnny Damon 0-for-6
Sam Fuld 2-for-2
Casey Kotchman 2-for-3
Indians vs. Shields
Orlando Cabrera 7-for-21
Shin-Soo Choo 4-for-9
Joel Hannahan 1-for-13
On deck
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)
Tuesday: vs. Rangers, 6:40. Sun Sports. Rays — Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 4.21); Rangers — C.J. Wilson (5-3, 3.25)
Marc Topkin, Times staff writer
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Johnny
DH Johnny Damon, left, was one of several Rays to test out the Super Sam Fuld Superhero capes during Friday's pregame warmups. The capes will be given away Sunday to the first 10,000 kids 14 and under.
Not your average Sk8tr Boi
Given how he talks, how he dresses and how he acts, LHP J.P. Howell would sure seem to be the skateboarding type, which we bring up because of today's postgame concert by Avril Lavigne. But, it turns out, we'd be quite wrong. "I wasn't a skater," Howell said. "I was a gangster. And that's with an -er."