It appeared as though the Tampa Bay Rays rolled into Texas with a chip on their shoulder. They hit very well and Scott Kazmir pitched lights out once again. He earned his 6th straight victory — first time a Tampa Bay Ray pitcher has ever done that. Kazmir pitched a strong 8 innings allowing only 2 runs with 6 strike outs and 0 BB. He also picked a runner off first base.
The bats backed up the excellent starting pitching performance from Kaz by scoring 12 runs on 13 hits and only 5 Ks and no one player had multiple Ks – a big change from the previous series! Home runs were also a large part of their offense with Eric Hinske, BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro all connecting. Upton also stole 2 bases off the starter.
This offensive explosion is well overdue. Great to see them score runs when they had runners on base. Kaz improves his record to 6-1 and we have picked up a full game on Boston as they were shut out at home by Seattle 8-0. Maybe they need a team brawl more often?!
Speaking of the brawl here is the suspension list as handed out buy the league front office:
James Shields – 6 games to have begun Friday (appealing)
Jonny Gomes – 5 games to have begun Friday (appealing)
Edwin Jackson – 5 games to begin June 13
Carl Crawford – 4 games to begin Wednesday
Akinori Iwamura – 3 games to begin June 17th
What ever happens with the appeals the Rays have said they will take their licks and move forward. They began that process last night having a great night of recovery while walloping the Texas Rangers. Great way to put the past behind and focus on now!
Go Rays!!
