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Mariners 7, Rays 1 (Game #8) [3-5]
Nearly 24,000 less spectators watched this game tonight compared to the home opener last night (attendance, 12,106). Well, the Tampa citizens who decided to stay at home didn't miss much. It pains me to mention that the Rays lost their fourth game in a row. What in the hell is happening?! Wasn't it a couple of days ago I was dreaming about a 5-1 start before the Seattle series? Jarrod Washburn had another typical pitching performance against Tampa Bay. Washburn gave up one run on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He improved to 11-3 against the Rays. In the third inning, Seattle took the lead 2-0 with runs by Jamie Burke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. The Rays got one back in the third with an Akinori Iwamura sacrifice fly to deep left, scoring Justin Ruggiano. After scoring runs in the fifth and sixth innings, which included a Adrián Béltre homer to deep left, the score remained 4-1 until the eight inning. Relief pitcher J.P. Howell relinquished a three-run home run to Jamie Burke, which scored Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro. New Rays pitcher from Triple A Durham, Jae Kuk Ryu, finished up the game with a scoreless inning. For the most part, I think Andy Sonnanstine pitched adequately… he had the same type of start against the Yankees last week, but since the Rays scored 13 runs, he had a bit of wiggle room. Fatefully, the Rays are having bona fide troubles at the plate. I'm convinced that this is just a phase that the players are enduring. Eventually, the hits will come. Even though the Rays have only scored seven runs in the past four games and a batting average of .167, they were able to manage eight hits tonight, including doubles from Jason Bartlett, Willy Aybar and Ruggiano. Aybar had a magnificent night with three hits (two doubles) and played well defensively. He's currently hitting .292. With Tampa Bay’s top five hitters going 1 for 18 tonight, the scoring chances were minimal. The Rays are batting .229 as a team, after hitting .283 through the first four games, averaging 7.8 runs. Let's hope Carl Crawford will end his current slump… he's only four shy of 1,000 hits. Before the game, it was announced that Cliff Floyd would be added to the 15-day disabled list and will undergo surgery on his right knee (medial meniscus tear) Friday. He'll likely miss four to six weeks. Floyd was batting .333 with two home runs. The Rays already have eight players on the disabled list. On an interesting note, the Rays' infielders haven't committed an error this season. All of Tampa Bay's six errors have been committed by outfielders or pitchers. Unusual. For the last game of this series, it will be an early start at 12:40pm. Edwin Jackson (1-0) will face off against Miguel Batista (0-1), who's 5-4 in 21 career appearances (5 starts) versus Tampa Bay with a 3.49 ERA. Finally, the Rays will face a pitcher who doesn't have superhuman numbers against them. This could be just what the hit doctor ordered. Two painkillers and a stimulating win with hits galore!
Nearly 24,000 less spectators watched this game tonight compared to the home opener last night (attendance, 12,106). Well, the Tampa citizens who decided to stay at home didn't miss much. It pains me to mention that the Rays lost their fourth game in a row. What in the hell is happening?! Wasn't it a couple of days ago I was dreaming about a 5-1 start before the Seattle series? Jarrod Washburn had another typical pitching performance against Tampa Bay. Washburn gave up one run on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He improved to 11-3 against the Rays. In the third inning, Seattle took the lead 2-0 with runs by Jamie Burke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. The Rays got one back in the third with an Akinori Iwamura sacrifice fly to deep left, scoring Justin Ruggiano. After scoring runs in the fifth and sixth innings, which included a Adrián Béltre homer to deep left, the score remained 4-1 until the eight inning. Relief pitcher J.P. Howell relinquished a three-run home run to Jamie Burke, which scored Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro. New Rays pitcher from Triple A Durham, Jae Kuk Ryu, finished up the game with a scoreless inning. For the most part, I think Andy Sonnanstine pitched adequately… he had the same type of start against the Yankees last week, but since the Rays scored 13 runs, he had a bit of wiggle room. Fatefully, the Rays are having bona fide troubles at the plate. I'm convinced that this is just a phase that the players are enduring. Eventually, the hits will come. Even though the Rays have only scored seven runs in the past four games and a batting average of .167, they were able to manage eight hits tonight, including doubles from Jason Bartlett, Willy Aybar and Ruggiano. Aybar had a magnificent night with three hits (two doubles) and played well defensively. He's currently hitting .292. With Tampa Bay’s top five hitters going 1 for 18 tonight, the scoring chances were minimal. The Rays are batting .229 as a team, after hitting .283 through the first four games, averaging 7.8 runs. Let's hope Carl Crawford will end his current slump… he's only four shy of 1,000 hits. Before the game, it was announced that Cliff Floyd would be added to the 15-day disabled list and will undergo surgery on his right knee (medial meniscus tear) Friday. He'll likely miss four to six weeks. Floyd was batting .333 with two home runs. The Rays already have eight players on the disabled list. On an interesting note, the Rays' infielders haven't committed an error this season. All of Tampa Bay's six errors have been committed by outfielders or pitchers. Unusual. For the last game of this series, it will be an early start at 12:40pm. Edwin Jackson (1-0) will face off against Miguel Batista (0-1), who's 5-4 in 21 career appearances (5 starts) versus Tampa Bay with a 3.49 ERA. Finally, the Rays will face a pitcher who doesn't have superhuman numbers against them. This could be just what the hit doctor ordered. Two painkillers and a stimulating win with hits galore!
