Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, who was given a start at designated hitter Wednesday in Texas, has hit well to begin the year with a .370 average entering the game. That said, this is the deepest into a season Longoria has ever gone without hitting a home run, MLB.com reports.
"I just think they're not giving him pitches to hit for power with," manager Joe Maddon said. "That's part of the issue. His swing is outstanding. He's probably fouled back his pitch a couple of times. I think he looks really good at the plate also. I like his willingness to take the ball the other way right now. That's part of what I'd like to see us do more consistently. We talked about it last year. There's a lot of good stuff in the opposite field."
Longoria does not have any extra-base hits to this point with just three RBI and a .357 slugging percentage.