Longoria thinks he can play Sunday, despite forearm bruise

NEW YORK -- Evan Longoria left Saturday's 3-2 win over the Yankees with a bruised right forearm. On the bright side for the Rays, he believes he'll be back in the lineup for Sunday's rubber game at Yankee Stadium.

"I'm pretty certain I can go tomorrow," said Longoria, who told Rays manager Kevin Cash he just wants to test out his throwing prior to the lineup being posted. Throwing gave him problems after he was hit by a Nathan Eovaldi pitch in the third inning.

Longoria, who entered the game with three home runs in his previous two games, played defense in the fifth inning. However, he did not return to play the field in the sixth. Rookie Richie Shaffer finished the game at third base.

"Just felt like I really couldn't get a good grip on the ball," Longoria said. "... It's OK, it just continued to get tight throughout the course of the game. That last inning I was in there, I actually felt like I was a liability.

"I was trying to throw the ball across the infield, and [my forearm] was real tight. I think it's just day to day. It hit me right in the muscle. No need for an X-ray, there's no break. I hope I'm in there tomorrow."