Rays line it up for season finale

Posted Oct 4, 2009 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Oct 4, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Good morning from the Trop, where the Yankees are in the midst of an enthusiastic round of stretching before taking batting practice, something they also did yesterday while the Rays cooled their heels in the clubhouse. That tells you all you need to know about what lies ahead for these two clubs—one with plenty left to play for and one looking for the last high note in a season that didn’t measure up to expectations.

Jason Bartlett and Carl Crawford will both sit it out today for the Rays, while the Yankees will start their entire regular lineup minus Jorge Posada. Expect wholesale substitutions as the game unfolds, though. I imagine Joe Girardi just wants to keep his guys’ blood pumping as they look ahead to much more meaningful games this week.

The lineups:

Yankees
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Burnett P

Rays
Upton CF
Brignac SS
Longoria 3B
Zobrist 2B
Aybar 1B
Burrell DH
Zaun C
Gross RF
Kapler LF
Davis P