ST. PETERSBURG -- Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe and shortstop Matt Duffy were both out of the lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Padres as they deal with injuries.
Forsythe was scratched shortly before Tuesday's game with back spasms. Duffy exited after three innings with soreness in his left Achilles.
Forsythe had played in every game since he returned from the disabled list on June 10, and he had hit five home runs in his past nine games. He said he expects the absence to be brief, and he will likely be back in the lineup on Friday after an off-day on Thursday. He did not expect to be available to pinch-hit on Wednesday.
Forsythe said his injury occurred as he picked up a towel off the floor of the clubhouse and turned to throw it in the laundry bin.
"It's a little better today. The pain is manageable," Forsythe said. "It's just lack of movement. I don't have much rotation. It just came out of nowhere. I've never had a back spasm or anything to do with my back in my career. So this is new to me."
Duffy returned from the disabled list on Friday to make his Rays debut after recovering from a strained Achilles on the same foot that was sore on Tuesday. He originally injured it while playing at Tropicana Field as a member of the Giants in June. The harder playing surface could have contributed to his injury issues, though it's not unexpected that he's sore due to playing five games in five straight days off the DL.
Duffy also hopes to be back on Friday, and he's not concerned that the injury will be a long-term problem.
"I think the consensus with everybody is to be smart about it," Duffy said. "Especially with the off-day tomorrow, give it one extra day and be ready to go Friday."