Major League Baseball

Rays' Price will pitch from pen Saturday

Published Oct. 2, 2010 4:51 a.m. ET

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David Price will pitch in relief for Tampa Bay on Saturday, his final tuneup before starting the Rays' first playoff game Wednesday.

Price picked up his 19th victory Tuesday against Baltimore, a win that clinched a postseason spot for the Rays.

''We want him to pitch again before the playoffs and we thought it would be better tomorrow than Sunday,'' Rays manager Joe Maddon said before Friday night's game against Kansas City. ''We don't want to be restricting him with the way he is pitching.''

Maddon said Price, who is 19-6 with a 2.73 ERA in 31 starts, would be limited to two innings and 30 to 40 pitches.

''Just enough for him to stay sharp and keep his edge, and get a little sweat going,'' Maddon said.

Maddon said he would pitch Andy Sonnanstine and Jeremy Hellickson on Saturday with Sonnanstine going three or four innings and Hellickson two or three.

He has not determined the playoff rotation beyond Price in the first game and who might be in the bullpen.

''The decision will be based on who we play,'' Maddon said. ''If we're playing this team then we'll have this rotation and this bullpen. If we're playing this other team then we'll have this other rotation and bullpen. There is the potential for the rotation to be shifted depending upon who we're playing and on the bullpen makeup, too.

''We've been talking about it and have some ideas and our guys back home have been putting together some things to look at. Some teams have a set lineup and a set rotation, so they know who it'll be for them going into the playoffs. We're not that team.''

Maddon held third baseman Evan Longoria, who is hitting .294 with 22 home runs and a team-leading 104 RBIs, out of the lineup Friday, the eighth straight game he has missed with a strained left quadriceps.

''It's possible that he'll play,'' Maddon said of the final two games against the Royals. ''My concern is any kind of injury or re-injury will force him into a DH role and we want him to play third base. We will be good with him in a DH role, but we want him to play third base.''

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