Maddon wants Kaz to keep head clear

Manager Joe Maddon wants LHP Scott Kazmir to think less about his mechanics tonight against the Athletics when he tries to break out of his recent funk.

Kazmir, who is 1-2 with a 10.61 ERA in his last four starts, plans to take "exactly" that approach.

He said Tuesday that while he focused on a mechanical correction during his side work in recent days, he won't obsess about it when he's on the mound for his eighth start of the season.

He agrees that he has been analyzing too much in recent starts, a recurrent habit that has affected his consistency.

"I'm going out there thinking I need to keep my foot down and just thinking about things as I'm delivering the ball, and you can't be successful that way," he said. "You don't throw the pitch with conviction."

Kazmir is 4-3 after starting the season 3-1 with a 3.97 ERA. In his last start, Friday against Cleveland, he allowed a season-high seven runs in a season-low 31/3 innings. The Rays rallied from a 7-0 deficit to beat Cleveland 8-7 on B.J. Upton's walk-off home run.

"It's kind of a fine line between working on your mechanics and going into the game and just pitching," Maddon said in discussing Kazmir. "There are certain things you have to work on to become more comfortable and efficient, but then you have to be able separate them."

Stubborn pinkeye

C Dioner Navarro was scratched from the lineup Tuesday when it became evident he still has a pretty good case of pinkeye going. He entered the game in the ninth inning after Gabe Gross pinch-hit for Michel Hernandez.

"He looks like he's from some scene in a horror flick," Maddon said about Navarro. "I mean, he's got the possessed eyes."

Navarro lifted his sunglasses to reveal red, watery eyes before the game. He said he has been using drops that feel like vinegar going into his eyes. His vision is OK, he said, but he was hoping to avoid rubbing his eyes and making the situation worse.

Hernandez got a third consecutive start, counting a planned start Sunday.

"We'll give Navarro another day and see what it looks like tomorrow," Maddon said. "The doctor is pretty sure everything is going to be fine."

Unhurt and lucky

The Rays are fortunate that RF Ben Zobrist wasn't injured making his acrobatic catch over the short wall in right field Monday night.

"I was concerned he was hurt," Maddon said. "I'm watching the whole thing and when he flipped out of sight, man, I ran as quickly as I could out of the dugout, and then he pops up this big ear-to-ear grin."

Zobrist ran down a long foul ball from Matt Holliday, caught the ball and flipped head-first over the wall onto a concrete floor. He said Tuesday he didn't feel any pain when he stood up, probably because of the adrenalin.

Maddon said he didn't mind Zobrist playing with abandon while his team had an 11-2 lead. On the contrary, he cited that catch and other hustle plays in the 13-4 rout of Oakland as evidence the Rays are "playing the game in the right manner."

"I don't want us to have a switch on this team," he said. "I think we're indicating there's no switch."

In discussion

Maddon said no decision has been made on whether the Rays will add a position player for this weekend's interleague series at Florida.

They've had only three bench players since putting DH Pat Burrell on the DL and calling up RHP Jason Isringhausen Sunday. They'll get a fourth for the Marlins series since the DH won't be used.

"I don't think it's a horrible thought to go there with four guys on the bench," Maddon said.

Farm report

OF Matt Joyce went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in Triple-A Durham's 10-1 victory against Rochester on Tuesday. He's batting .301 with 15 RBIs. ... RHP Wade Davis threw 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball for Durham on Monday night, allowing only two hits. He's 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA, and opponents are hitting .192.