The Tampa Bay Rays convincingly took game one of the 3 game set with the Chicago White Sox using outstanding pitching and offense.  Edwin Jackson gave a very strong 6 inning performance giving up only 2 runs to the powerful White Sox lineup.  E-Jax scattered 7 hits and 5 free passes within his 6 innings.  Clearly he ran into trouble more than once during his time on the bump, the impressive thing was he did not break.  He managed to get the outs when he needed them including 5 Ks.  E-Jax had some help from the bench and his catcher, Dioner Navarro. The bench called for 2 pitch outs that led to outs at 2^nd base. It was as if Joe Maddon knew something the rest of us did not.   Nice job!

The offense came alive in this game in bug fashion!  The Rays banged out a total of 14 hits – 9 of them for extra bases!  The home run parade included Carlos Pena (26), Ben Zobrist (6) and Rocco Baldelli (1).  That’s right folks!  Rocco’s first dinger since May 3, 2007!  Congrats Rocco!  The hit parade did not stop here.  Akinori Iwamura banged out a run scoring 3B to put the Rays ahead.  And the 2B were many – Willy Aybar had 2 doubles.   Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett and Pena also added to the 2B total.   

The only negative in this game was the top of 2^nd inning.  There were 2 major base running mistakes that ended in 2 outs at home plate – never a good idea.  Rocco decided to run on a dribbler in front of the plate – there were runners on 1^st and 3^rd with no outs at this point.  It was clear it was his own decision and was not sent by Foley, but – bad idea.  The SP Danks grabbed the ball and barely tagged Rocco out but he did.  The next flub came with 1 out and runners on 2^nd and 3^rd.  On a short line drive to LF Willy opted to tag and attempt to score.  Once again, not a good idea.  Willy was thrown out by a mile. 

Aside from our mistakes in the 2^nd inning this was a well played game on all sides of the ball.  The pitching showed great poise and determination on the mound.  The offense was patient and picked good pitches to hit and did so!  The defense was exceptional as always!  Nice way to begin this tough series.   

Today the Rays get some much deserved national attention as the FOX game of the week!  Scott Kazmir rides the bump and should show continued improvement on previous starts.  Go Rays!    

The Ray offense was held silent until the 6^th inning when Jason Bartlett broke up a no-no.  It was an impressive performance by Angel starter Ervin Santana.  The Rays however showed their determination by breaking through in the 8^th inning for a 3 run spot.

James Shields did not have his best pitches working effectively for him.  But, with stellar defense behind him he wriggled out of a few tight spots allowing only 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 hits in 8 innings pitched.  James also recorded 7 outs himself by way of the K!  James showed his resiliency by staying out on the mound and pitching tough through a less than Shields like performance.  He came through when the Rays needed him!  

James was back by a defense that was flashing some very impressive leather between the lines!  Gabe Gross grabbed a ball high off the RF wall to record the final out of the 1^st inning!  Very nice grab!  Bartlett napped a short line drive up the middle and doubled an Angel runner off of first!  JB means a ton to this defense!  BJ Upton threw a strike to the plate to nail Tori Hunter trying to score from 2^nd base!  It was a perfect throw and catch!  

The Ray offense got to the bull pen and loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8^th with no out.  The Rays tied the game on a bases loaded walk to Carlos Pena.  Then Willy Aybar came clutch once again.  Aybar knocked a 2 run single to put the Rays out in front for good. 

This was another GREAT team victory!  In gaining this win the Rays have not only taken this series from the Angels but have also secured the season series and the best record in the American League!   As a Ray fan since their beginning I was honestly hoping to see a record just above .500 – to see improvement this year in moving forward.  These guys impress me with something different every night!  Keep it going! 

Obviously a lot of the credit needs to go to the RFO and to Joe Maddon.  The RFO gave Joe the pieces to be successful.  Joe has proven to be a very intelligent baseball man.  But more impressive is how he handles the players.  Last night Upton was called out by 1^st base umpire Jerry Meals on an over thrown ball – Meals said Upton made an attempt to go to 2^nd base.  NOT!!  Maddon charged out there and argued emphatically for Upton – a player he has benched several times for a lack of hustle.  Maddon was promptly tossed form the game.  He showed that he believes in and has the back of all his players.  It would have been very easy to blame Upton with his recent string of negative events but Maddon did the right thing.  He showed BJ that he has faith in him.  Hopefully this said a lot to BJ and there will be no more negative incidents with BJ the rest of this season.  If Maddon does not get voted MOY there will be a riot!    

Yes, you read correct!  With bases loaded in the bottom of the 9^th and MLB RBI king Josh Hamilton stepping to the plate Joe Maddon signaled for 4, 4 pitches outside to intentionally walk in run #3.  The move paid big dividends as Dan Wheeler recorded a K on Marlon Byrd for the save right after the walk.  Nice move Joe!!

Scott Kazmir recorded his 9^th victory this season.  He pitched a solid 6 innings holding the potent Ranger offense virtually silent.  Although he again had a high pitch count, 114, he only allowed 2 ER on 4 hits while giving up 4 free passes.  Kaz also racked u p 7 strike outs.  He said he felt much better after this start so hopefully this means he’ll pull it altogether just in time for the stretch run and on into the playoffs.

The offensive burst came in the form of extra base hits.  Out of 10 total hits for the Rays 6 were for extra bases.  Carlos Pena belted a 3-run shot and BJ Upton knocked a 2-run shot.  Adding to the extra base parade were 2Bs by Upton, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross and Willy Aybar. 

The bullpen was a bit of a concern.  Juan Salas appeared for the first time and promptly gave up 2 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB.  Grant Balfour followed him and gave up 3 BB in just a third of an inning.   Balfour really needs to find a second pitch.  His fastball is lights out but when that’s all he’s throwing these professional hitters are going to catch up to it.  Last night his control was clearly not good with the fastball.  It would be nice to see him add something else to his arsenal.  

The Rays finally go home with a very successful 7-3 road trip.  Yes, these weren’t the best teams in the league they faced but isn’t that the point, beat the teams you should?  Well, they did.  They also improved their road record to 30-31, best in the Al East at this point.   The Rays are home for a possible 3 (depends upon TS Fay) game set against LAA.  Then back to the road for 3 against the CWS.  These 6 games will say a lot about the current state of this team.  Now they are playing the best the league has to offer.  This is where the affect of injuries will show themselves or not…..up to the guys playing between the lines.

The Tampa Bay Rays took the series from the Oakland A’s in 12 innings taking this road trip’s record to 5-2 so far. They begin the last leg of this 10 game trip tonight in Texas. I’m not really sure how to characterize this victory. Was it a great victory in that the Rays kept grinding? Was it a lucky victory in that the Rays made a ton of mistakes? Was it a bad victory because we should have put this team away easily? Well…..I guess none of that really matters as WE WON!

The Bad: James Shields struggled through his 5 innings of work mightily. He allowed 5 hits, 5 free passes, 1 HR and 4 ER. Clearly James’ road woes haunted him in this game. BJ Upton was doubled off of first base on a fly ball that took the A’s RF to the wall. Upton forgot to retag 2nd base on his way back – are you kidding me with this??!! Troy Percival thought that cutting in front of Carlos Pena to field a late inning bunt then running down the runner rather than tossing it to first base was a good idea. WRONG — yes, we got the out, only because the runner ran out of the baseline, but Perci is probably going to join CC and Longo on the DL for his 3rd time this season with a sprained knee. Perci – you’re old dude, let the young guys take care of the details! Grant Balfour earned his first blown save of the season by giving up a game tying single to Frank Thomas.

The Better: The Ray offense banged out 13 hits and accumulated 7 free passes. Rocco Baldelli played 6 innings and made an outstanding diving catch in RF. Jason Bartlett returned to the game as a late inning replacement at SS.

The Best: Willy Aybar had a nice day at the plate going 2 for 5 with a 2B, 3B, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs and 1 BB. Cliff Floyd showed his great eye for the K zone by going 1 for 2 with 4 free passes, 2B, 4 runs scored. Carlos Pena broke the 5-5 tie in the 12th by crushing his 23rd HR of the season. But most importantly – WE WON!

Concerns for today’s game: The Rays used every pitcher in their bull pen in this game. If Garza cannot go deep we may have to use a few tired arms against a very potent Ranger offense. Rocco played hard and ran a lot in this game so he’s probably not available for the opening game in Texas.

Go Rays!!!!

The Tampa Bay Rays cruised to a road series victory against the Seattle Mariners Sunday 11-3. Edwin Jackson pitched deep and was very effective against a hard hitting lineup. Jackson pitched 7 only allowing 1 ER. E-Jax pitched with a lot of focus and he pitched to the zone. He gave his defense opportunities to make plays which they did.

With Carl Crawford on the 15 day DL (maybe longer pending his doctor appointment today), Evan Longoria and Jason Bartlett still out it was a different look line up. But Rocco’s back!!! A clean shaven Rocco Baldelli returned to the Rays Sunday and went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a nice diving catch in RF! Welcome Back Rocco!!

The big bat of the game came from Willy Aybar. Willy cracked a pair of HRs collecting 4 RBI’s and 2 runs scored! Shawn Riggans added a 3-Run blast to put the game far out of reach for the Mariners. The hit parade was robbed of a Carlos Pena HR that hit the top of the wall above the yellow line (which by rule is a HR) but was called in play by the umpires. Carlos ended up on 3rd and scored a few plays later.

This was a GREAT team win! Four of our regulars were out of the game and still the Rays were relentless in their attack. They did not skip a beat. I am not insinuating that CC being out isn’t hurting the Rays. It will at some point. I have a lot of faith in our outfielders BUT let’s be realistic…..Hinske or Gross are not going to track down the balls CC can due to his speed. But, that being said was a great win and should give the Rays a ton of confidence heading to Oakland.

The Rays may have lost the game but there was still a lot of good thing s that happened Monday night.  First, the Rays still looked energized and did continue to have good at bats.  The Rays offense banged out 8 hits and squeezed 2 BB out of the probable AL Cy Young winner, not bad at all!  Second, Willy Aybar made some good plays at short filling in for Bartlett.  I think a lot of people forget that he originally was a shortstop. Nice to see him be able to fill in and allow Longo to stay at 3^rd.  Third, the Red Legs and those that wear pinstripes also lost so nothing changes in the standings.  This same time last year the Rays were –DIG THIS – 24 1/2 games out of first!!!  We are now 3 games UP!!  WOW – what a turnaround!

Matt Garza had a bit of trouble with his location throughout the game.  He allowed 7 hits, 4 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB while accumulating 4 K’s.  Even though Garza did not have his best stuff he did leave the game with the Rays still in good position to win.  That is an acceptable outing – no one pitcher is going to have their best stuff every outing.  When they don’t their objective turns to limiting the damage and keeping their team in the game — Garza did just that.  He did it by keeping his composure on the bump!   

The offense did bang out 8 hits.  Unfortunately Cliff Lee answered back by getting the key outs when he needed them.  Now, Cliff Lee is probably going to win the AL Cy Young award.  That being said I think the Rays did a good job against him last night.  I don’t feel so bad about this offensive effort because I still saw the intensity and energy out there. 

Tonight the Rays come back to take the game and tomorrow take the series!  Go Rays!!

OK, you’ve all heard the saying the good pitching beats good hitting….let me assure you however that bad pitching makes the game interesting! WOW! I am still emotionally spent from that game yesterday, it was amazing!! The Trop was packed and most stayed to see the walk off win!

This game really didn’t get “started” until the bottom of the 8th inning. Armando Gallaraga had the Rays shut down for 7 innings allowing only 4 hits and 1 ER. James Shields did not pitch his best, allowing 9 hits and 2 ER in 6.1 innings. Shields left the game behind 2-1. Grant Balfour followed Shields and gave up a monster blast to Tampa native Gary Sheffield to run the score to 3-1.

The Tigers then brought in newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth in the bottom of the 8th and this is when the game got interesting. Eric Hinske led off the 8th facing the 98 mph fireballer Farnsworth. Hinske promptly deposited a Farnsworth fastball over the right centerfield wall to move the Rays to within 1 run, 3-2. Bartlett was over matched by Farnsworth for the first out of the inning. Akinori Iwamura sauntered to the plate and drove a firm single to centerfield. BJ Upton walked to the plate with the tying run standing on 1st and only 1 out. BJ launched a 3-1 fast ball to over the centerfield fence to put the Rays up 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th!

The Rays bring in Troy Percival to collect his 25th save – NOT!! Curtis Granderson deposited the first Perci pitch he saw into the RCF seats to tie the game in the top of the 9th at 4-4. Uggggg………… The Tigers and Rays then went down quietly into the top of the 10th inning. Once again we run Perci out to toe the rubber and try to keep the Tiger bats quiet. Perci faces Miguel Cabrera with a bad outcome – you guessed it – another home run! Now the Tigers are up 5-4 in the top of the 10th. Finally Perci had thrown his last pitch. Trever Miller came in to close the door.

Now I have been watching baseball for many years and cannot remember a time when I’ve seen such dramatics in the potential last at bat of a game. Willy Aybar, PH for Gross, walked to start the bottom of the 10th. Jason Bartlett squared to bunt and took a pitch right on the tip of his finger splitting open the nail and causing a lot of bleeding. This and I’m sure the intense pain he was feeling, sent him to the showers with a 0-1 count. Off the bench to PH for him was our last remaining position player — Shawn Riggans. Fernando Rodney throws as hard as anyone, mid to high 90’s. Riggans turned to swing and was hit directly in the middle of his sternum by a 93 mph Rodney fastball running in on him – the crowd went silent as Riggans hit the dirt! All 33,000 + stood and watched with anticipation for Riggans to get up under his own power. I think we all stopped breathing for a few seconds or so! After a few minutes of clear agony Riggo regained his breathe and walked ever so slowly to first base.

Next Ray to go against Rodney was Aki. Aki laid down a beautiful sac bunt to advance the runners to 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out. Carl Crawford came to the plate and deposited a single past the drawn in infield to score Aybar with the tying run! The crowd went mad!!!! With runners on 3rd and 1st Upton walked to load the bases. Longo stepped to the plate to become a hero once again. But, it was not to be this time as Rodney clearly overpowered our beloved rookie and struck him out.

So, here we go fans!!! Bases loaded, bottom of the 10th, tie score, 2 outs …. Up steps Carlos Pena. Carlos hung tough fouling off several pitches and bringing his count to 3-2. Now, isn’t this every young boys dream??!! Bases loaded, bottom of the 10th inning, 3-2 count, 2 out??!! WOW – the stage is set for tonight’s hero. Pena takes ball 4 and, appropriately, it is Riggans who jogs in from 3rd with the winning run!

WOW – I’m worn out just by reliving the excitement! What a game and what a series!! The Rays appear to have found that intensity they had lost for a bit. They looked great this weekend. Even when the chips were down they picked each other up and played hard as a team! Great to see!

Get some rest fans! We owe the Indians a sweep! Go Rays!!!

The Tampa Bay Rays recovered from a lackluster performance last night to defeat the Oakland A’s 4-3 to take the rubber game of the 3 game set. James Shields pitched a GREAT game except for 2 pitches he threw in the 2nd that resulted in back to back jacks by the A’s offense. His final line was 8.1 innings pitched, 3 ER, 6 hits and 7 K’s. Troy Percival came in to earn his 20th save.

The Ray’s offense looked a bit more alive today. Johnny Gomes and Ben Zobrist went deep back to back in the 5th inning to put the Rays on top to stay. Willy Aybar and BJ Upton banged out a couple 2 base hits.

The Rays head to Kansas City to take on the Royals in a 4 game set. This will be the true test of this team. Historically they have not played well on the road. Recently their play has also come into question at home. So, what team will show up in Kansas City? They must head into Kansas and play like they want to stay in first place. They must improve their situational hitting! I’ll be watching!!!

Go Rays!

Scott Kazmir threw his best outing so far this season going 7 VERY strong innings!  He was outstanding!  He allowed only 2 hits in 7 innings while striking out 9!  I have to admit Kaz did not look good facing his first batter – he walked him on 4 straight pitches.  But he settled down and cruised the rest of the way. He even picked a runner of 2^nd!  His slider was dead on making that fastball that much better.  The bullpen, JP Howell and Grant Balfour, pitched 2 perfect innings to close the door.

Evan Longoria blasted his 3^rd HR in as many games!  He was joined in the HR launching by Willy Aybar who drilled the left field foul pole for his 4^th HR this season.  The offense looked better generating 9 hits and 8 BB.  They were active on the base path swiping 3 bags.  They clearly had the pressure on the A’s defense and it showed. 

I cannot say enough about the outstanding job Kaz did.  He put on a clinic!  The Rays remain 1.5 games above the Red Legs and 4.5 above those that wear the pinstripes as all 3 teams recorded victories.  Andy Sonnanstine will toe the rubber tonight – his first appearance since the All Star break.  With all the rest he’s had that ball is likely to be very active tonight! 

See you at The Pit!

And this why….

• The depth of their bench. They are solid and experienced. Hitters like Eric Hinske, Willy Aybar and Cliff Floyd have the experience. Gabe Gross and Shawn Riggans have shown a propensity for getting the big hit when we need it. Riggans has amazingly maintained a healthy bat only playing once a week or less – he’s been outstanding this season. The entire bench does not hit for average but when they do is take pitchers deep into counts and get a pitch they can do something with.
• The depth of their pitching staff. From the starters to the bullpen they have proven if one is struggling the others will have their back. If one goes down another from AAA is there to step right in without a hint of inability.
• The defense has been above average. The Rays do commit errors occasionally but they move past the error onto the next play.
• They play as a complete TEAM. Every night there is a new hero for this team. Who would have thought Andy Sonnanstine would lead our SP staff with 9 wins? Who would have thought we’d have as many walk off wins as we’ve had this season? Who really thought Troy Percival was going to come in here and close the door like he has?
• They are hungry! They have hit a few bumps in the road but have picked themselves up the next night. They want this – it’s in their eyes!

The next test comes at The Trop with division nemesis Boston red Sox. This will be a 3 game series that could see one team or the other fall far below the top in the AL East standings. Or we could just see another brawl! Here are your pitching Matchups:

June 30 – James Shields (5-5, 3.76) vs. Justin Masterson (4-1, 3.43) TV – ION Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
July 1 – Matt Garza (6-4, 3.76) vs. Tim Wakefield (5-5, 3.88) TV – FSN Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
July 2 – Scott Kazmir (7-3, 2.88) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-1, 3.21) TV – ION Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)

The Tampa Bay Rays are true contenders in the AL East. This series will end with the Rays still atop the AL East and a series victory 2-1.

Go Rays!!