Crawford back to limited action

Posted Sep 26, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Sep 26, 2008 at 03:06 PM

DETROIT—The Rays have reinstated Carl Crawford from the 15-day disabled list.

Updating: Crawford said his doctor has cleared him to take live batting practice for the first time, and he’ll do so tomorrow. He already has taken soft-toss today and will hit off a tee later today. He’s available for pinch-running and defense tonight, and we’ll see how far the Rays let him go after that.

Crawford has been sidelined since injuring a tendon in his right hand on a swing Aug. 9, leading to his first career stint on the DL. His activation now reopens the possibility that he might be deemed ready to play in time for the Division Series, which Crawford had all but dismissed a couple of days ago.

“If I’m swinging the bat, I’m doing everything right now,” he said. “It’s just, they want me to move real slow and cautious, and I’m cool with that, because I’m confident that things will get better.”

In the meantime, here’s the Rays’ lineup as they look to clinch the AL East title outright against Justin Verlander and the Tigers:

Iwamura 2B
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Floyd DH
Navarro C
Gross RF
Hinske LF
Bartlett SS
Sonnanstine P