--RHP Grant Balfour rejoined the bullpen after an amazing performance at Class AAA Durham, where he was 8-for-8 in saves and allowed only one run and five hits in 23 2/3 innings. "Pitching is all about confidence," Balfour said. "Once you throw up a zero, the next thing you know, you throw another one; it's like a hitter getting hot. I feel like I tried to roll with it as long as I could."
-- OF Rocco Baldelli will play in an extended spring training game again Saturday as the DH, taking slow steps on the road back to the majors. He has been sidelined since spring training with a rare condition that causes muscle fatigue in his legs. --Rookie 3B Evan Longoria started taking ground balls at shortstop during batting practice Friday. With Ben Zobrist optioned back to Class AAA, Longoria, who played shortstop in junior college and for about 20 games at Long Beach State, will serve as Jason Bartlett's backup, though likely only on an emergency basis.
--2B Akinori Iwamura had two hits Friday, giving him 41 for the month with one game left in May. He is the fifth Ray to have at least 40 in a month; Carl Crawford had a team-record 50 in August 2007.
--CF B.J. Upton stole two bases in a game for the fifth time in his career. He ranks tied for third in the AL with 17 steals.
BY THE NUMBERS: 10 -- Games above .500 after play May 25, the most in franchise history, at 30-20.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I didn't think I had that many muscles." -- LF Carl Crawford, joking about being depicted as a super hero on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
