Early notes on Davis, Valencia and pitching matchups

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis said he received about 12 plate appearances yesterday at the minor league camp and a nasty bruise on his right shin after being drilled by a pitch from Tampa Bay's Chih-Wei Hu.

Davis had the shin wrapped today and said he might wear a protective guard on it, but it won't prevent him from staying in the lineup.

With extra motivation to run against Hu, Davis eventually scored a run and could joke about it later.

Davis was able to lead off in several innings while moving back and forth between fields at Twin Lakes Park. He likes the idea of doing it in the regular season and manager Buck Showalter has hinted at the possibility because Davis routinely leads the team in walks.

Danny Valencia was scratched from yesterday's lineup with a sore calf muscle, but he said today that it feels much better and he's able to play.

"Just some soreness from playing so many consecutive days in a row, but I feel all right. I feel good to go," he said.

"You want to be smart in spring training. I could definitely play tonight. If it was a regular season game yesterday, I could have played, but I just don't want to get it out of control and get to where you miss extended periods of time. I feel way better than I did yesterday and good to go."

Miguel Castro and Tanner Scott are listed as available relievers tonight behind starter Nestor Cortes Jr. The Rays are starting former Orioles left-hander Vidal Nuño.

The Rays scratched Nathan Eovaldi and replaced him with Nuño due to concerns about the weather forecast. They don't want rain to interrupt Eovaldi's start.

Hunter Harvey starts Wednesday night against the Yankees' Luis Cessa in Tampa. Mike Wright Jr. starts Thursday against the Red Sox's Hector Velázquez in Sarasota.

The extra players brought to Sarasota tonight include pitchers Andrew Faulkner, Luis Gonzalez, Lucas Long and Jay Flaa, infielders Garabez Rosa, Adrian Marin and Jomar Reyes and outfielder Ryan McKenna.