Rays strip Saturday Double-A lineup

The Rays have poached many of the expected Biscuits for today's exhibition game in Sarasota against the Rays, leaving the Double-A lineup that's headed to Clearwater to play the Phillies with a Vero Beach look.

UPDATE: The games in Clearwater are starting at 11 a.m.

Josh Asanovich, Chris Nowak, Rhyne Hughes, Ronnie Merrill, Rashad Eldridge, Sergio Pedroza , Patrick Cottrell and Erold Andrus are among the potential Biscuits who are playing the major-league game today.

The regular Rays will get in a few innings before the reserves take over.

"We want to get the starters out after three innings and unleash the Biscuits against the Reds," Rays manager Joe Maddon cracked. "We’ll see how that works out."

Minor-league lineups ...
Durham -- Perez, lf; Brignac, ss; Ruggiano, rf; Longoria, 3b; Jaso, c; Gimenez, dh; Hall, 1b; Bannon, 2b; Owens, cf; Groce, dh.
Montgomery -- Matulia, cf; Suarez, 3b; Royster, lf; Fields, 1b; Fronk, dh; Spring, c; De La Rosa, ss; Walton, dh; Brennan, rf; Fontaine, 2b.
Vero Beach -- Salem, cf; Loyola, rf; Cipriano, 2b; Vogt, lf; Aybar, 3b; Sexton, dh; Lopez, c; Wrigley, 1b; Paxton, dh; Luna, ss.
Columbus -- not posted.

Results ...
Mitch Talbot threw five no-hit innings in Tampa Bay's 1-0 win over the Phillies in a Triple-A exhibition game. Starter Jae Kuk Ryu gave up two hits in four innings before Talbot finished it out.

The Rays scored in the fourth after some aggressive baserunning by Evan Longoria. Longoria singled up the middle, took second on a pitch in the dirt and went to third on a grounder to shortstop. Hector Gimenez flied out to bring him home.

In the Double-A* game, Neil Walton hit a three-run triple in the ninth inning to give the Rays an 8-8 tie. Wade Davis pitched an impressive five innings. Reid Fronk worked a walk with a long at-bat to help stoke the four-run, ninth-inning rally. The Rays had the bases loaded and one out when the second Phillies pitcher of the inning hit his pitch limit and the inning ended.

In the major-league game in Sarasota, Sergio Pedroza had two RBIs and Patrick Cottrell hit an RBI single in the Rays' 8-4 loss to Cincinnati. Jino Gonzalez gave up three runs in the eighth inning.