Cruz feeling better, but sits out third straight

ARLINGTON -- Despite feeling fully recovered from an injured Achilles tendon and a fever, Nelson Cruz was out of the lineup for the third straight game Wednesday.

"He's looking better," manager Ron Washington said. "He can pinch-hit. But I'm not going to put him out there in a ballgame after the way he looked yesterday. So he'll get one more day. He's OK. But I'm going to give him one more day."

Cruz came out of Saturday's loss to the Giants with a sore right Achilles tendon, and he singled in his only at-bat as a pinch-hitter in Sunday's win. But the outfielder, who fell under the weather with a fever before Tuesday's series opener vs. the D-backs, did not start Wednesday. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, striking out on three pitches in his only at-bat.

"I feel good. I feel kind of sore, but I feel like I can play," Cruz said. "I fell asleep the night before and I got up at about 2 in the morning with a fever, so I went to the doctor. Since yesterday, I don't feel a fever."

Brandon Snyder made his first start of the season in right field and batted eighth on Wednesday. In each of the last two games, David Murphy had replaced Cruz -- who is batting .302 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in his last 31 games -- in right field. Washington said he considered playing Josh Hamilton in right, but went with Snyder, who has started games at first base, third base, left field and designated hitter this season. He can also catch.

"I throw from the outfield every day," Snyder said. "Because I play a lot of different positions, there's a lot of different arm angles. First is different than third. It's obviously different at catcher. Then you go in the outfield and it's trying to find that happy medium to throw from."

"Brandon has been great," Washington said. "Compared to what we saw in Spring Training and right now, he's come a long ways."