ST. PETERSBURG -- Second baseman Logan Forsythe and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier were both out of the Rays' starting lineup for Saturday's 8-2 win against the Rangers at Tropicana Field.
It was the fourth straight start that Forsythe missed as he deals with a tight back. Kiermaier exited before the third inning on Friday with left hip tightness and had seen no improvement going into Saturday.
Forsythe could enter the game if needed, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. The prognosis with Kiermaier seemed less positive.
"I don't have an answer for how, or what happened," Kiermaier said on Saturday. "But something didn't agree with a movement I made somewhere. It's kind of crazy how it progressively got worse. I tried playing and sticking it out. But hitting, throwing, a little bit of everything -- was just not comfortable. I made the decision to come out of the game, which I hate. It's embarrassing to me."
Forsythe took swings in the batting cage on Saturday to see if he felt up to playing. Immediately after that, the lineup was posted without his name. Prior to Tuesday, he had played every game since June 10. He also had homers in five of his past nine games.
The plan is that Forsythe will start on Sunday.
Mike Mahtook started in center field in place of Kiermaier. Tim Beckham got the nod at second base for the second straight game. Both players had defensive lapses at those respective positions on Friday. Beckham threw to get an out at first base, instead of taking an easy forceout at second in the second inning. Mahtook threw a soft toss into the cutoff man, and it allowed Elvis Andrus to score from first on a single in the fifth inning.
The Rays also placed Nick Franklin on the seven-day concussion disabled list after he was hit in the helmet while waiting to bat in the first inning on Wednesday.
Said Cash: "This is where our depth is getting tested a little."