--RHP Edwin Jackson will be the No. 4 starter and RHP Jason Hammel will have the fifth slot. When the Rays selected their rotation over the weekend, they identified RHP James Shields, RHP Matt Garza and RHP Andy Sonnanstine as the first three starters, but said they would decide later between Jackson and Hammel, who will pitch the first two games of the second series at Yankee Stadium.

--RF Jonny Gomes will be eligible for the March 31 season opener, as Major League Baseball has scheduled the hearing for the appeal of his two-game suspension for April 4, when the Rays are in New York.

--3B Willy Aybar, who became the starter when the Rays made the controversial decision to send top prospect Evan Longoria back to Class AAA, has been sidelined since Saturday with a left hamstring strain. The Rays say they expect him to be ready for Monday's opener, and they will be cautious until then, which could prevent them from getting their starting infield on the field together.

--RHP James Shields wasn't particularly sharp Wednesday in his final tune-up for the March 31 Opening Day start, allowing seven hits and hitting two batters in four innings of the 4-2 loss to the Twins. However, he said he made "some pretty good pitches" in the 67-pitch outing. "He got the work he needed to get in today," manager Joe Maddon said.

--LHP Scott Kazmir was officially placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, but the bigger news was that he is tentatively scheduled to return to the mound next week. Kazmir, who sustained an elbow strain Feb. 26, has not thrown off a mound since Feb. 13. He has been playing catch with no problems, feeling good and getting better, according to manager Joe Maddon. It seems unlikely Kazmir will pitch in the majors before late April.

--INF Ben Zobrist was also placed on 15-day disabled list due to a lack of healing of his fractured left thumb, but his stay is expected to be short. The move was backdated to March 21, which means he could be eligible as soon as April 5.

BY THE NUMBERS
46 -- Total major league wins by the five members of the Rays' season-opening rotation -- James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I think they have turned the corner, and I think it is a new era in the Rays' baseball history. You can't totally separate the two because somebody had to go through building the foundation, somebody had to go through the growing pains, and I'm honored that it was me. But sometimes you wish you could have showed up now." -- Chuck LaMar, former Rays GM who is now the Phillies' director of pro scouting.

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