Jason Bartlett is a stud! This guy is absolutely nails at the dish this year. JB had a career high 5 RBI’s going 3 for 3 with a 3B, 1 BB and 3 runs scored. JB is currently the leading AL SS in BA by exactly .100 points over the next best AL SS! He is by far the best base runner on this team with great reads and quick decision making. The guy scored from 2nd base on a wild pitch that didn;t travel too far! This guy is as professional as it comes and his success at the plate is not going to his head. He works hard everyday to be where he is. This should earn him a trip to St Louis for the mid summer classic. BUT WE MUST VOTE FOR HIM! You know Jeter will be the starting SS probably just out of pure popularity and exposure. You need to go to MLB.com and have a voice – VOTE! That being said outstanding day for JB and the offense all around! In total the Rays banged out 9 hits and racked up 9 free passes as well.
SP Jeff Niemann had a nice outing for himself as well. Jeff went 8 strong giving up 8 hits, 4 runs (3 ER) and 3 strike outs with 0 walks. This is his best outing of the season to date. I’d still like to see him be a bit more aggressive, not sure what it but he still seems a bit passive to me on the mound. RP Jason Isringhausen made his 2009 debut to get some work in the 9th. Izzy allowed 1 hit in the inning and that was that.
This was a nice outing to continue a 4 game win streak. This is what I spoke about last week – the need to beat these teams we should beat. We have done that and are now at the .500 mark. The Rays should creep closer to the top of the division by the end of the month – Go Rays!
