OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Tampa Bay first baseman Brad Miller has been scratched from Monday’s game with a facial contusion after hitting a ball that deflected off a protective screen and struck him near his left eye during batting practice.
Miller was immediately attended to by a team trainer and there was some light bleeding but nothing significant, according to a Rays spokesman.
Tampa Bay didn’t announce the change until an hour before the scheduled first pitch.
Miller was scheduled to bat leadoff for a fourth consecutive game before he was hurt. Mallex Smith moves up in the lineup from sixth to the leadoff spot.
C.J. Cron, initially listed as Tampa Bay’s designated hitter, replaces Miller at first base. Christian Arroyo has been inserted at DH.
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