Rays not second-guessing Kapler's positioning Tuesday

Much was made of the two triples the Mariners hit in the fourth inning Tuesday night that cleared the head of Gabe Kapler as he played the shallow center field the Rays prefer.

The second-guessing didn't seem to extend inside the visitors' clubhouse at Safeco Field, though.

"Of course you're going to get questioned on different things based on the fact that we're doing something a little bit different in a sense," said Rays manager Joe Maddon, "but I think the results have actually been very good to this point."

The Rays like to have their center fielder play closer to the infield than most, giving him a better chance to pick off line drives and bloopers that might otherwise fall in for hits while figuring that balls hit hard to the gaps probably are going to get there without a play anyway. It's a philosophy that works for the regular starter, B.J. Upton.

"A lot of the time, there's more balls that drop in front of you than over your head," Upton said. "So if we can cut the ones out that drop in front of us, that can go a long way - especially for us with our pitching staff."

Upton enjoys playing shallow and has the speed to get to plenty of balls hit behind him - witness his two dramatic over-the-shoulder catches at the fence already this season. Kapler doesn't have Upton's range, but he wasn't interested in dissecting the triples by Rob Johnson and Yuniesky Betancourt that drove in three of Seattle's four runs Tuesday.

"You can paint it a million different ways, but it's so simple," Kapler said. "The ball got to a spot I couldn't get to."

B.J. back in there

Upton was back to patrolling center for the Rays on Wednesday, just as he had predicted the previous day. An afternoon test of his right quadriceps and groin turned out fine, allowing him to return to the starting lineup.

But he said he would have to monitor the situation at least for a few days, especially given the chilly weather the Rays are facing on this trip (48 degrees at game time Wednesday).

"I'm probably going to have an issue with keeping it loose," Upton said. "That's the biggest thing, is keeping it loose. We'll keep our eye on it and just see how it feels day to day."

Maddon wasn't sure if he would start Upton again today, given that it's technically a day game after a night game. But the late 3:40 p.m. local start time had Upton optimistic about his chances of playing.

Election season begins

Ballots for this year's All-Star Game were released Wednesday, and this time just about all of the Rays' regulars are accounted for.

Evan Longoria wasn't on the 2008 ballot as he opened the season in the minors but ended up being voted into the game by the fans. He's on the list of AL third basemen this year, however.

Also included on the ballot for this year's game in St. Louis is Pat Burrell - as an outfielder. There is no DH slot, so Burrell, Upton and Carl Crawford are the Rays' outfield representatives.

Online voting at MLB.com runs through July 2.

Marc Lancaster