It’s about time, eh?

Posted Jun 29, 2009 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Jun 29, 2009 at 05:07 PM

TORONTO—In their 78th game of the season, the Rays will get their first look at the division rival Blue Jays for the first time in 2009. It’s a bit strange, the way the schedule works out sometimes, but that’s the way it goes, and 18 of the Rays’ remaining 85 games will be against the Jays.

Ben Zobrist has cooled down a bit lately, with six hits in his last 40 at-bats, and Joe Maddon is giving him the day off. That also serves to get Willy Aybar in the lineup, something Maddon would like to do a bit more often if possible.

“You’ve seen all the big moments he’s had recently for us, and to just sit him for long periods of time really bothers me,” Maddon said.

A couple of relievers also are slated to rest up tonight after the work they did over the weekend, so don’t expect to see J.P. Howell or Chad Bradford regardless of what happens. If the Rays find themselves in a closer-type situation, Dan Wheeler likely will get the nod.

One other programming note for those of you tuning into the radio broadcast tonight: Andy Freed is not with the team at the moment, as he remained back home to take care of some things there. Word is he’s hoping to rejoin Dave Wills for the Rangers series this weekend. In the meantime, the eminent Mr. Todd Kalas is slated to fill in with some innings of radio work the next few nights in addition to his TV duties.

The Rays’ lineup:

Upton CF
Crawford LF
Longoria 3B
Pena 1B
Aybar 2B
Burrell DH
Gross RF
Bartlett SS
Navarro C
Niemann P