By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Rays vs. Rangers
When/where: 1:10 today; Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Starting pitchers
RAYS: LH David Price (6-4, 3.54)
RANGERS: RH Colby Lewis (4-5, 3.90)
Tickets: $9-$210 at Tropicana Field box office, Ticketmaster, raysbaseball.com, team store in Tampa, $3 surcharge within five hours of game.
Watch for …
Price-busters: The Rangers have had their way with Price, who is 0-2, 7.45 against them in four regular-season starts and was winless in two 2010 playoff starts for an overall mark of 0-4, 6.47.
Cool Colby: Lewis has been pitching better, going 3-2, 2.40 over his past six starts, though he shares the AL lead in homers allowed (13). He is 2-0 despite a 7.71 ERA in three games against the Rays and had a no-decision in Game 3 of the ALDS.
Key matchups
Rays vs. Lewis
Johnny Damon 3-for-10
Casey Kotchman 2-for-10
Rangers vs. Price
Adrian Beltre 2-for-11
Josh Hamilton 1-for-6
Ian Kinsler 2-for-6
On deck
Thursday: at Mariners, 10:10, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (5-3, 2.15); Mariners — Felix Hernandez (5-4, 3.19)
Friday: at Mariners, 10:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 4.39); Mariners — Jason Vargas (3-3, 4.50)
School days for Zobrist
2B/RF Ben Zobrist called Tuesday's visit to Skyview Elementary "pretty awesome" as he visited with Kaleb Gates' second-grade class for the Take Zobrist to School promotion. Zobrist spoke at an assembly, took a few laps on the school track, played football and had lunch in the school cafeteria. "I had some corn-dog poppers, a little vegetable medley and chocolate milk,'' Zobrist said. "I was a happy camper.''
Road tripping
The Rays leave after today's game for a four-city, 11-game, 12-day, 7,208-mile trip that takes them to Seattle, Anaheim, Baltimore and Detroit (for a one-game makeup). It is their longest trip by games since September 2009, when they went 2-9 in New York, Boston and Baltimore (with two doubleheaders), and their longest by days since August 2005, when they went 6-6 to Texas, Anaheim, Baltimore and Cleveland.