'The Future' takes the mound

Rookie David Price, known around the Rays clubhouse as "The Future," just finished his first inning of work.

Price entered in the seventh inning against the Jays, the left-hander walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and missed the strike zone on the first two pitches to the next hiiter.

After that it was strikeout swinging.

Fly ball to shallow center.

Strikeout swinging.

The Rays lead 10-4, thanks to a five-run fifth that featured a grand slam by Pat Burrell.

Make that 11-4. Ray Sadler just went boardwalk. Not sure if the ball cleared the boardwalk in left field and landed in the lake, but take my word, it was a blast.

Price returns to the mound to start the eighth.

Houser among Rays first cuts

The Rays sent eight players to the minor league side of camp before Tuesday’s game.

The most notable cut was pitcher James Houser, the left-hander from Sarasota who was taken in the second round of the 2003 draft. Houser was optioned to Triple A Durham.
The others were catchers Craig Albernez and Nevin Ashley, and pitchers Jason Cromer, Neal Frontz, Calvin Medlock and Chad Orvella.

Orvella will continue his rehab from the shoulder surgery that cost him the 2008 season.

Longo, Pena and Burrell bat in first

The Rays big guns came to bat in the bottom of the first inning, starting with Evan Longoria, who came to the plate with Reid Brignac on second and a run already in.

Here is how it went ...

Longoria draws a walk. Brignac advanced to third on a wild pitch during the at-bat.

Carlos Pena bounces into a 4-6-3 double play that scores Brignac from second.

Pat Burrell draws a walk.

Rays trail 3-2 after 1.

Perez injures wrist

Fernando Perez injured his left wrist in the top of the first inning and immediately headed to the trainer's room.

The center fielder's wrist got caught under him as he dived for a bloop pop-up to shallow center field by Travis Snider. Perez didn't come up with the catch, and Snider had a two-run double.

It was a tough first inning Perez.

He had dropped a ball in deep center field while trying to catch a long drive from Russ Adams. Perez tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch, but couldn't hold on.

Perez was replaced by Jon Weber.

Jays at Rays

The big guns are stacked in the middle of the Rays order today for the first time this spring.

Evan Longoria is batting third. Carlos Pena is batting fourth and Pat Burrell is batting fifth.

"We're going to take it for a drive around the block and see how it rides," Pena said.

Maddon said we'll see more of that grouping during the rest of the spring and probably at the start of the regular season.

Matrt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are schduled to make their spring debuts today.

The Rays made some cuts before the game. The most noteable is pitcher James Houser, the Sarasota native who was a second-round pick in 2003.

Here are the lineups:

Blue Jays
Joe Inglett 2B
Russ Adams LF
Travis Snider RF
Scott Rolen 3B
Brian Dopirak 1B
Buck Coats CF
Kevin Melillo DH
Curtis Thigpen C
Angel Sanchez SS
Matt Clement P

Rays
Fernando Perez CF
Reid Brignac SS
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Dioner Navarro C
Gabe Gross RF
Justin Ruggiano LF
Ray Olmedo 2B
Matt Garza P

Twins edge Rays

Delmon Young hit a two-run homer off Joe Nelson in the fifth for what proved to be the winning run in the Twins 4-3 victory.

Nelson was making his Rays debut.

Elliot Johnson hit his third home run of the spring, a solo shot in the ninth to bring the Rays to within one.

Scott Kazmir, who allowed a run on three hits in two innings, said he felt fine. He needed 24 pitches to get through the second inning, but he said that was because he was working on some things. That's what they all say.

The good news for Kazmir was he threw four sliders and thought they all had late movement, something he couldn't do with the pitch last season.

Ben Zobrist had a double and a triple off Twins starter Kevin Slowey. Pat Burrell, back after spending four days in San Francisco for his sister's wedding, doubled in three at-bats.

The Rays are back at it Tuesday against the visiting Blue Jays.

Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are scheduled to make their spring debuts for the Rays.

Kaz allows a run in two innings

Scott Kazmir allowed a run in two innings in his spring debut.

He would have allowed more than one run had Gabe Kapler not robbed Delmon Young (Remember him?) with a nifty catch in deep center field.

Kapler was playing shallow and ran a long way to catch up to the drive. Remember, center field at Charlotte Sports Park is 414 feet.

Back to Kazmir.

Kaz allowed three hits and walked a batter. He struck out one.

Kazmir breezed through the first inning on nine pitches.

He needed 24 to get through the second.

David Winfree drove in the run with a double just inside the third base bag and just beyond the reach of a diving Ben Zobrist.