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Rays optimistic about Longoria's hamstring

The Associated Press

Longoria served as designated hitter Tuesday against Kansas City but left the game in the sixth inning.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Rays third baseman Evan Longoria probably won't play tonight after leaving Tuesday's game with a hamstring injury, but the Rays don't expect him to be sidelined for long.

Longoria underwent an MRI exam on his left hamstring today and Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said it didn't reveal any significant damage. Longoria may miss a few games, but it doesn't appear he is in line to join the recent parade of Rays to the disabled list.

"The report was good," Friedman said. "It's the proverbial day-to-day, but we're very optimistic that we're going to avoid a DL situation. He's a little sore today, so I don't foresee him playing tonight. That said, I'm confident that we will get him back relatively soon."

Longoria grabbed at his left hamstring area just as he crossed first base on a groundout in the sixth inning Tuesday. He was serving as the designated hitter in the game because of some recurring soreness in his arm, and the next time the DH spot came up in the order, Gabe Gross came on to pinch-hit.

Longoria said following the game he didn't believe the injury would be a long-term problem and noted that he had never experienced a similar injury.

"I really haven't ever had any hamstring problems, and I take pretty good care of them, too," he said. "I think if it was something serious I'd been feeling it right now a lot more than I am."

Longoria currently leads the major leagues with 55 RBIs and is the leading vote-getter among all American League players in fan voting for this year's All-Star Game.

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