Longoria starts second half stuck in slump

TORONTO -- Evan Longoria has been around long enough to experience many highs and lows in his Major League career. Entering the second half of the season, the Rays third baseman was in the midst of one of the lows -- a .136 batting average in his last 18 games.

Longoria smiled when asked if the slumps ever get better after having the experience of riding out past slumps.

"It doesn't really matter," Longoria said. "We all kind of talk about it in here. I've felt better a couple of days, I've been on the verge of breaking out of it, and then I have a bad day again. And I'm like, 'Geez, I'm back in it again.'

"We all say that, like everybody slumps, but you don't remember what it's like to be slumping until you're slumping. It's [no fun]. You feel like you're never going to slump when you're going good. And then, when you're slumping, it's like, 'Geez, I don't feel like I've ever slumped in my life.' But you have to remember that it's a tough game and that you come around with belief and work and just keep going out there."