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Right from the first pitch, the Tampa Bay Rays had their power stroke going.
B.J. Upton homered to leadoff the game, Carl Crawford and Willy Aybar added solo shots and the Rays won their seventh straight game Tuesday night, 4-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We really lived by the long ball,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We didn’t have to do the speed game today.”
The Rays finished June with a team-record 41 homers and are the only squad in the major leagues with more than 100 homers (105) and 100 steals (121).
Matt Garza (6-5) allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings, walked three and struck out three to win consecutive starts for the first time since April 30 and May 5.
“Garza struggled a little bit with command,” Maddon said. “But overall, his stuff is so good he was able to fight through some moments.” Garza is 4-2 with a 0.60 ERA in his past six starts against the Blue Jays. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 0.91 ERA in four career starts in Toronto but was at a loss to explain his dominance against Toronto.
“I’d love to be this stingy in any ballpark also,” Garza said. “There’s no answer.”
J.P. Howell worked the ninth for his sixth save.
Upton hit his second career leadoff homer off, drilling the first pitch from Scott Richmond over the wall in left-center for his seventh homer.
“I was just looking for a pitch to hit, ready to hit right from the first pitch,” Upton said. “I got a pitch I liked and hit it out of the ballpark.”
The Blue Jays tied it in the second when Scott Rolen singled to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games and scored when Lyle Overbay grounded into a double play.
Crawford put the Rays in front to stay in the third with a one-out homer, his eighth of the year.
“It was a slider down and in,” Crawford said. “He struck me out with it in the first inning and I was able to stay on it for the home run.”
Aybar made it 3-1 with a leadoff shot in the sixth, his seventh.
Richmond allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings. He walked five and struck out seven.
Ben Zobrist capped Tampa Bay’s scoring with a sacrifice fly in the eighth off reliever Jesse Carlson.
Toronto has scored just six runs in its past four games, all losses, the first time this season they’ve lost four straight at home. The Blue Jays are .138 (4 for 29) with runners in scoring position in that stretch, leaving manager Cito Gaston pondering changes to his batting order.
“Some of the guys are hitting but the guys that we need to drive in runs are not swinging the bats at all,” Gaston said. “We’ll think about doing something (Wednesday), trying to get guys in the right spots.”
The Blue Jays never mounted much of a threat in this one. Rolen grounded into a fielder’s choice with runners at first and second to end the third and Vernon Wells flied out to end the fifth, stranding runners at second and third.
Garza left after Aaron Hill’s leadoff walk in the seventh and Wells followed with a single against Chad Bradford. Hill took third on Rolen’s fly out before Randy Choate came on and struck out Adam Lind, then got Overbay to fly to left. Overbay is hitless in 13 at-bats and Wells is stuck in a 2 for 19 slump.
Xtra, xtra: Rays 3B Evan Longoria, who missed time with a tight left hamstring earlier this month, was held out of the starting lineup but pinch-hit in the eighth and flied out. Blue Jays closer Scott Downs, out since June 18 with a sore toe, threw off the bullpen mound and will try fielding drills in the coming days, Gaston said. Downs is eligible to come off the DL Friday when the Blue Jays open a three-game series at New York. Toronto rookie LHP Brett Cecil made his first career relief appearance in the ninth (Associated Press - Sports).
In his first game back from the disabled list, Toronto ace Roy Halladay was outpitched by a rookie.
Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell homered, Jeff Niemann pitched 7 1-3 strong innings and the Tampa Bays Rays ruined Halladay’s return with their sixth straight victory, 4-1 over the Blue Jays on Monday night.
“You’ve got to pitch well to beat Doc,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “That’s what we did and that’s why we came out on top.”
Halladay (10-2) came in having won his past seven decisions, the longest streak in the majors, but lost for the first time since April 21, against Texas. The Blue Jays have lost three straight.
He was starting for the first time since June 12, against Florida, when he left two pitches into the fourth inning with a sore groin that landed him on the disabled list. Halladay allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander, who walked two and struck out seven, failed to pitch at least seven innings for only the second time in 15 starts.
“Thank God he’s been out for two weeks because they’d have left him in longer,” Maddon said. “He would have probably finished that thing off.”
Niemann (7-4) won his third straight decision and is unbeaten in five starts in June. He allowed one run and four hits, walked two and struck out one.
“He had a lot of late life on his pitches,” Maddon said. “I saw a lot of late life on the fastball and some really good depth on the curveball.”
Randy Choate got the last out for his fourth save in as many chances.
The long layoff seemed to affect Halladay’s control and limited him to 88 pitches, 57 strikes.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Halladay said. “Location there in the second and third inning was kind of hit and miss a little bit. For the most part I felt pretty good with everything.”
Crawford didn’t notice too much of a drop off with Halladay.
“He didn’t look bad,” Crawford said. “He still looked kind of sharp, he was hitting his spots. He didn’t look terrible. It wasn’t like you saw a big difference. He probably wasn’t at his best but it wasn’t a big difference.”
The Rays touched Halladay for two runs in the third. B.J. Upton drew a leadoff walk, stole second and went to third when catcher Rod Barajas’ throw sailed into center field. On the next pitch, Crawford drilled a curveball into the second deck in right, his seventh homer.
“We’re on a good roll right now,” Crawford said. “Hopefully we can keep it up. We’re still climbing back up the standings. We’re just trying to get into a groove and stay there.”
Crawford’s homer helped the 26-year-old Niemann breathe a little easier.
“Against a guy like Halladay, to get the early run kind of takes the pressure of you that much more,” the right-hander said. “You just go out there and pitch and not really try to be so fine with things.”
Halladay responded to Crawford’s homer by retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced. The only one who reached was Gabe Gross, who was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth.
Tampa Bay tacked on two runs in the seventh against right-hander Jeremy Accardo. Burrell led off with a homer to left, his third, and Upton hit a sacrifice fly.
The Rays have hit 38 homers this month, matching a team record set twice previously. They also hit 38 in Aug. 2005 and Aug. 2008.
The Blue Jays chased Niemann in the eighth when Jose Bautista led off with a walk, took second on a groundout and scored on a double by Barajas.
Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games with a leadoff double in the second.
The Rays stole three bases, boosting their major league-leading total to 121, but were caught stealing twice.
Xtra, xtra: Toronto OF Alex Rios, who is 2 for 21 in his past six games, got the day off. Barajas played for the first time since leaving in the second inning of Friday’s game with a strained right hamstring. His throwing error in the third was Toronto’s first in 11 games. Tampa Bay RF/2B Ben Zobrist, who is in a 6-for-40 slump, was held out of the starting lineup but came on as a defensive replacement in the ninth (Associated Press - Sports).
David Price is showing flashes of what made him so dominant in Tampa Bay’s World Series run last season.
Price allowed one run over 6 1-3 innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday.
“I’m close,” Price said. “I’m getting there. I’ve just got to keep working. It’s going to fall in place at some point, and when it does I want to ride the wave as long as possible.”
Price (2-2) gave up two hits, five walks and had four strikeouts. The first overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft was coming off a pair of losses in which the left-hander was touched for 15 runs and 17 hits in 11 1-3 innings.
“Starting pitching drives the engine. He did a great job today,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
B.J. Upton homered for the Rays, who have won five in a row. Tropicana Field is the only park in the majors where at least one homer has been hit in every game (39) played this season.
Series at a Glance
The Marlins got a run-scoring single from Hanley Ramirez. Andrew Miller (2-4) gave up five runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.
“We had him (Price) on the ropes and it seemed the deeper he got into the game, the more settled he got and his stuff got better,” Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s a good one.”
Jason Bartlett hit an RBI double and Gabe Kapler had a run-scoring grounder to put Tampa Bay up 2-0 in the second. Bartlett has driven in 22 runs over his last 21 games, while Kapler has 12 RBIs during interleague play.
Florida got within 2-1 in the third when Ramirez completed a 12-pitch, two-out at-bat with an RBI single. He has 24 RBIs in 18 interleague games.
Upton put the Rays back up by two, at 3-1, on a first-pitch leadoff homer in the bottom of the third. It was his first home run off a lefty since last Sept. 26 against Detroit’s Bobby Seay.
“You don’t get any breaks in that lineup,” Miller said.
Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist had RBI singles in the seventh to make it 5-1.
“We’re just playing better baseball,” Maddon said.
J.P. Howell, the third Tampa Bay reliever, struggled with his control, but got the final two outs for his fifth save.
Howell replaced Chad Bradford with two on and one out in the ninth. After hitting Cody Ross and walking pinch hitter Wes Helms to force in a run that cut the Rays’ advantage to 5-2, the left-hander then struck out Ronny Paulino and Ross Gload.
“That final game is really hard,” Howell said. “It’s tough to sweep any team. It feels really good.”
Howell also had two wins in the three-game series. He has not allowed a run over his last 16 2-3 innings.
Xtra, xtra: Tampa Bay is scheduled to face Toronto ace Roy Halladay (10-1) Monday night. The right-hander (groin) is set to be reinstated from the 15-day disabled list to make the start. “I’m looking forward to that like a root canal,” a smiling Maddon said. Marlins RHP Leo Nunez, slowed by a strained right ankle, reported no problems one day after throwing an inning on Saturday night. SS Kenny Diekroeger, taken 78th overall by Tampa Bay in this year’s amateur draft, took grounders before the game. The 18-year old hasn’t decided if he will sign with the Rays or attend Stanford University. Kapler went 11-for-22 in interleague play. Tampa Bay went 13-5 in interleague, while the Marlins won 10 of 18 (Associated Press - Sports).
There’s no debate over what a healthy and productive Scott Kazmir can do for Tampa Bay’s chances of getting back to the World Series.
“Kaz is a huge part of what we’re doing,” manager Joe Maddon said after the 25-year-old made his first start in over a month Friday night, working five innings in a 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
“He’s one of the better left-handed pitchers in the American League,” Maddon added. “And to get back there (World Series), we need him to pitch and perform at his level.”
Carlos Pena hit his AL-leading 23rd home run and Willy Aybar broke a ninth-inning tie with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, as the Rays (41-35) won their fourth straight to climb a season-best six games over .500.
Jason Bartlett singled off Burke Badenhop (5-3) with one out in the ninth. He stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored easily on Aybar’s fly ball to center field.
J.P. Howell (4-2) pitched the ninth for the victory. Kazmir wasn’t involved in the decision, but took a step forward.
“I was just anxious to get out there. I wanted to go out there and prove something,” the Rays’ all-time leader in wins and strikeouts said. “My efficiency wasn’t where I wanted it to be. But at the same time, I felt like the spots that I missed, it wasn’t that bad.”
Brett Carroll homered for Florida, however the Marlins went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and have gone 1 for 16 in those situations in dropping the first two games of the weekend Citrus Series.
The Marlins, who lost Friday night’s opener when the Rays scored four in the eighth to win 7-3, fell to 1-4 against Tampa Bay.
“Sometimes you match up differently with certain teams. They’re an athletic club,” Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “You know what, these two last games, they could have gone either way. They’re a tough group of guys.”
Kazmir, an All-Star last season, allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. He threw 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out five, including Chris Coghlan three times.
Marlins starter Chris Volstad gave up Pena’s solo homer in the fourth and a RBI bunt single to B.J. Upton in the fifth. The right-hander yielded five hits in six innings, walked three and fanned five before leaving a 2-2 tie to the bullpen.
“Two well played games so far in the series,” Volstad said. “We just happen to be on the wrong side of each of them.”
Kazmir, who’s 4-4 with a 7.28 ERA, had not pitched in the majors since allowing seven runs in 4 1-3 innings of a loss to Oakland on May 20. He worked on pitching mechanics the past month and felt good about the adjustments he’s made following a pair of rehab outings in the minor leagues.
“The repetition of his delivery, I really like that a lot,” Maddon said. “I just thought he had a better feeling that if he needed to throw a strike he could tonight, whereas in the past I don’t think he necessarily had that feeling.”
The first inning has been a problem for the left-hander, and he fell behind quickly again this time with the Marlins taking a 1-0 lead without getting a hit. Carroll’s third homer of the season made it 2-0 in the third.
Fifteen of the 30 walks Kazmir has allowed this year have come in the first inning, and he has trailed after one inning in his each of his four losses. Emilio Bonifacio drew an early pass Saturday, then stole second and third before scoring Florida’s first run when Hanley Ramirez grounded out.
Ramirez, who went 0 for 4 to end an eight-game hitting streak, has driven in 14 runs in his last five games.
Xtra, xtra: Tropicana Field is the only park in the majors where a home run has been hit in every game this season. Pena’s homer was his 100th as a Ray and moved him ahead of Fred McGriff into second place on the club’s career list behind Aubrey Huff (128). With Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom (right elbow sprain) out, Gonzalez said right-hander Leo Nunez and left-hander Dan Meyer could get some save opportunities (Associated Press - Sports).
After a slow start, B.J. Upton is heating up as Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter.
The speedy centerfielder had two hits, stole a base and drove in three runs with a double that snapped an eighth-inning tie Friday night, helping the Rays beat the Florida Marlins 7-3 in the opener of their weekend series.
“It’s just playing the game, playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” said Upton, whose hustle on the bases also led to him scoring on a wild pitch that was one of the keys to stopping the Marlins’ five-game winning streak.
Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford also drove in runs for the AL champions. J.P. Howell (3-2), the fifth Tampa Bay pitcher, worked 1 1-3 innings for the victory.
Hanley Ramirez homered for the third time in four games for the Marlins, hitting a solo shot that made it 3-all in the seventh.
The Rays loaded the bases against Renyel Pinto (2-1) and Brian Sanches in the eighth on a fielder’s choice and two walks, the last an intentional pass to Dioner Navarro after Sanches fell behind 3-0 in the count.
Upton doubled to the gap in right-center, and Crawford followed with an RBI single for a four-run cushion.
“I’m always looking for a fastball. He left it out over the plate, and I just told myself don’t try to do too much with it,” said Upton, who’s batting .357 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 16 interleague games, compared to .207 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 51 games against AL opponents.
The 24-year-old started slowly after beginning the season on the disabled list while recovering from shoulder surgery performed after the World Series. He’s hitting .313 in his last 33 games after batting .177 in his first 34 after rejoining the lineup.
“I started with a pretty good slider, and then I tried to come in with a fastball and I left it up over the plate,” Sanches said. “You can’t do that against a club like this.”
Ramirez, who had grand slams in two of three games against Baltimore this week, has driven in 13 runs in his last four games for Florida.
His first-inning RBI single gave starter Josh Johnson a quick lead, however the Marlins wasted opportunities to take control when they left the bases loaded in the second and stranded a runner at third the following inning.
The Rays scored on Pena’s RBI single in the first and Longoria’s run-scoring single in the third.
After Florida made it 2-2 on Ross Gload’s RBI double in the fifth, Tampa Bay quickly regained the lead with help from Johnson, whose fifth-inning wild pitch allowed Upton to score from third base.
Johnson allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. He departed with the score 3-all after Ramirez homered with two outs in the seventh off James Shields, who yielded three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett went 0 for 4, ending his career-best and franchise-record hitting streak at 19 games. He wound up scoring the go-ahead run, though, after reaching on a fielder’s choice in the eighth.
“Overall, that eighth inning got away from us. We put guys on base and that can’t happen,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “You put guys on base, they’re an athletic club that can steal bases and make things happen, you’re asking for trouble.”
The so-called Citrus Series has never really caught on with fans and attracted a crowd of 20,972 to slightly more than half-full Tropicana Field. The Rays averaged 19,537 for a three-game series against Philadelphia this week, an especially disappointing number because it was a rematch of the teams that met in last year’s World Series.
Xtra, xtra: Longoria returned to Tampa Bay’s lineup after sitting out Thursday with a sore left hamstring. The Rays are close to becoming the first team in major league history to have 100 steals and 100 homers before the All-Star break. They swiped three bases Friday night, giving them a baseball-best 114. They’ve hit 98 homers. Marlins INF-OF Alfredo Amezaga (left knee) could resume batting practice this weekend. Florida RHP Anibal Sanchez (right shoulder) might start light bullpen sessions next week (Associated Press - Sports).
Tampa Bay's Andy Sonnanstine settled after taking Philadelphia's best shot, doing everything he could to prove he deserves to remain in the Rays' pitching rotation.
Willy Aybar homered and drove in three runs as a replacement for an injured Evan Longoria, and Sonanstine regrouped after giving up four first-inning runs Thursday night to beat the Phillies 10-4 in the decisive game of a rematch of last year's World Series teams.
"It took me a little bit to find my control. But once I got it, I felt good and confident and was effective," said Sonanstine, whose spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy because of the impending return of Scott Kazmir from the disabled list.
"I felt like I rebounded well," the right-hander added. "I battled."
Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer and Jason Bartlett extended his career-best hitting streak to a franchise-record 19 games as the Rays, who dropped the World Series to the Phillies in five games, won two straight after dropping the opener of this week's rematch 10-1.
The Phillies, who've lost 10 of 12 yet remain in first place in the NL East, pounced on Sonnanstine right away.
But rookie left-hander Antonio Bastardo (2-3) couldn't hold the lead. And, once Sonanstine found his rhythm, there were few opportunities to come back.
"We've lost some games where we've gave some away, and also we've lost some games where we've played bad baseball," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
"We've made some mental mistakes, mistakes you're not supposed to make. Sometimes we don't score. Sometimes we don't hold them. We don't play consistent baseball. We don't have the pitching and hitting and defense together. That's how you accumulate losses."
The Rays scored six times in the first two innings, then broke the game open with three runs in the sixth off Chad Durbin.
Aybar, starting because Longoria was resting a sore left hamstring, had a solo homer in the second and a two-run single in the sixth.
Zobrist's 16th homer finished Tampa Bay's three-run first. Bartlett had two singles, one of them driving in a run in the sixth, to prolong his hitting streak. Quinton McCracken had an 18-game streak for the Rays in 1998.
Sonnanstine settled after yielding a two-run double to Ryan Howard, an RBI double to Matt Stairs and an RBI single to Pedro Feliz in the first. The right-hander allowed six hits, walked one and struck out seven.
Kazmir likely will make his first start in more than a month this weekend against Florida, and manager Joe Maddon faces a decision on whether Sonnanstine, rookie David Price or Jeff Niemann will be moved to the bullpen or minor leagues.
"I'm not sure," Sonnanstine said, when asked if felt he'd made the decision more difficult. "That's probably a question for them."
Maddon said he'll decide Friday.
"He didn't surprise me," the manager said. "I really expected him to pitch well."
The Rays answered Philadelphia's quick start with three runs in the first and three more in the second against Bastardo, who allowed six runs and seven hits before leaving with a shoulder sprain with one out in the fourth. After the shaky beginning, Sonnanstine allowed one hit - Greg Dobbs' one-out single in the fifth - over the next four innings. The only other Phillies baserunner during that stretch reached on a walk in the third.
"The momentum of the game shifted. That's how it goes sometimes," Manuel said. "Their pitcher hung in there and he held us. That kind of sums up the game."
The Phillies, who played without slumping shortstop Jimmy Rollins, wasted an opportunity to cut into a two-run deficit in the sixth, when Feliz was doubled off first base on one-out fly ball to center that should have scored Matt Stairs from third.
Feliz scrambled to get back to first and Stairs took off for home, but B.J. Upton's throw from center easily beat both runners for the third out.
Xtra, xtra: Rollins, hitless in his last 19 at-bats, will be out of the starting lineup at least two games. The game was delayed 1 minute, 36 seconds in the seventh inning while the umpires used instant replay to determine if there was fan interference on Pat Burrell's ground-rule double that bounced into the left-center field stands. There wasn't. Longoria expects to return to Tampa Bay's lineup Friday night against Florida. The Phillies reinstated closer Brad Lidge (sprained right knee) from the 15-day disabled list (Associated Press - Sports).
Pat Burrell conceded he felt pretty good, though not necessarily because ending the longest homerless drought of his career helped Tampa Bay take down his old team.
The ex-Philadelphia slugger struck early with a two-run shot, then added a third RBI late as Matt Garza and the Rays beat the Phillies 7-1 Wednesday night in the middle game of a rematch between the participants in last season's World Series.
Burrell contributed to the Phillies beating the Rays in five games last October, however he's off to a slow start that's included a month-long stay on the disabled list since signing with Tampa Bay over the winter.
"It's fun because I know the team and everything like that. But more importantly for me, it's just being back on the field and able to contribute and help us win," he said. "I think that's No. 1."
Garza (5-5) shut down Philadelphia's offense for his first win since May 16 to even the series that's been a box office bust at half-full Tropicana Field.
Attendance was announced as 18,862, down from the 19,608 that showed up for Tuesday's opener, won by the Phillies 10-1.
Philadelphia was limited to Greg Dobbs' fifth-inning single until Jayson Werth hit an opposite-field solo homer in the seventh, trimming Tampa Bay's lead to 2-1 and enabling the Phillies to remain the only team in the majors with an extra-base hit in every game this season.
Burrell's second homer since signing with the Rays—ending
a stretch of 33 games and 104 at-bats without a homer—ruined an otherwise strong performance for Joe Blanton (4-4), who struck out 10 while yielding two runs and six hits in seven-plus innings.
"On a night like tonight, when both pitchers are throwing like that, it's whoever can put a crooked number on the board. They put two up and got ahead of us," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said.
Garza, 0-3 over his previous six starts, allowed one run and three hits in eight innings. The Rays assured his first win in nearly six weeks with five runs in the eighth, and Burrell drove home the first of them with a bases-loaded fielder's choice grounder.
Jason Bartlett followed with a two-run single off Chan Ho Park to extend his career-best hitting streak to 18 games, tying Quinton McCracken for the franchise record. Greg Gross finished the Phillies off with a two-run double.
"I got back to what I've been talking about, being aggressive," Garza said. "I went after thses guys with my fastball, and that's what I've been known to do. I got back to who I was, and that's throwing the heater and saying: 'Hey, beat me at this.'"
Garza breezed through the first three innings before walking Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to load the bases with no outs in the fourth.
There was a time when the 25-year-old might have fallen apart in such situations, however he kept his emotions in check and escaped without allowing a run by getting Werth to ground into a first-pitch double play (third to home to first) and fanning Matt Stairs.
Hitless up to that point, the Phillies broke through when Dobbs lined the first pitch of the fifth inning to right field. Garza didn't allow another baserunner until Werth's 13th homer on a 3-2 pitch with one out in the seventh.
Stairs followed with a single for the third hit off the Tampa Bay starter, however Garza retired Dobbs and Pedro Feliz to get out of the seventh without any further damage.
"He was very aggressive. ... He definitely contained us," Manuel said.
Burrell, who spent the first nine seasons of his career in Philadelphia, signed a $16 million, two-year contract with the Rays in January after not being offered a new deal by the Phillies.
He homered in Tampa Bay's home opener on April 13 and had not hit another since, although the drought included a 29-game stay on the DL with a neck strain that's prevented him from settling into his new role as a designated hitter.
"I said hello to him (before the game)," Manuel said. "He starts hitting like that, I will never say hello to him."
Xtra, xtra: Rays 3B Evan Longoria left the game after the sixth inning as a precaution after feeling "slight soreness" in his left hamstring. He and Maddon said they don't believe the injury, which sidelined him for six games earlier this month, is serious. ... The Phillies expect closer Brad Lidge to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday. He's been out since June 7 with a sprained right knee (Associated Press - Sports).
Forget a change of scenery, plus an added incentive to play well in a rematch of the teams from last year’s World Series.
Six runs in the first inning helped the Philadelphia Phillies relax and get back on track Tuesday night.
“We got some big hits early. We got some runs and we got a lead and was able to hold it,” manager Charlie Manuel said after the world champions got seven RBIs from Chase Utley and John Mayberry to rout the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1.
Utley and Mayberry both homered in support of Jamie Moyer (5-6) to help the Phillies shrug off a 1-8 interleague homestand that dropped the NL East leaders nine games below .500 (13-22) at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia is a baseball-best 24-9 on the road.
“For us to just be able to go out there and get that kind of a start, it was good,” the Phillies’ Ryan Howard said. “It gives your pitcher a good cushion.”
Utley had a two-run double in the first inning. He added his 16th homer, a two-run shot in the fourth, off David Price (1-2) for a 10-0 lead against the Rays’ highly-regarded rookie left-hander.
Moyer (5-6) pitched six strong innings and John Mayberry, filling in for the injured Raul Ibanez, hit a three-run homer for the Phillies, who defeated the Rays in the World Series in five games.
Tampa Bay, which managed five hits off Moyer and eight overall, scored on Jason Bartlett’s fourth-inning single that extended the shortstop’s career-best hitting streak to 17 games—one shy of the franchise record.
“They’re a good offensive ballclub. They can beat you in a lot of ways,” said Moyer, who walked three, struck out four and escaped a bases-loaded jam to stay in control after giving up Bartlett’s RBI hit. “All of baseball saw it last year.”
For the 46-year-old Moyer, who made his pro debut 15 months before the 23-year-old Price was born, it was career win No. 251, moving him into a tie with Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for 43rd on the all-time list.
He’s worked six innings or more in each of his last seven starts, improved to 9-4 lifetime against Tampa Bay and is 19-14 with a 3.23 ERA in interleague play.
“He knows what he’s doing. … He was on top of his game tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “He got the big lead and ran with it.”
This is the seventh time since interleague play began in 1997 that World Series participants have met the following regular season, although the Rays insist there’s nothing special about the rematch.
The teams played several times during spring training, including twice in Philadelphia, where the Phillies won Games 3, 4 and 5 to close out the World Series.
“Once you did that, it was sort of the proverbial closure situation, and you’re able to move on,” Maddon said before the game.
“It really seems like such a long time ago right now, which is a good thing,. Again, we’re still attempting to make his year better than last year. … I’m really pretty much over it. I know everybody wants to rehash it, and I apologize, but it’s about right now.”
The rematch hasn’t created a buzz among fans, either. The announced crowd at Tropicana Field was 19,608—more than 17,000 below capacity, and down from the nearly 23,000 the Rays have averaged this season.
Howard was in the Phillies’ starting lineup as the designated hitter after being hospitalized twice over the weekend with acute sinusitis. He missed Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Baltimore, ending his consecutive games streak at 343.
“Am I 100 percent? No,” he said. “But I’m a lot better. 75-80 percent. Right now it’s mostly congestion.”
The slugger followed Utley’s two-run double with a RBI double of his own make it 3-0. Mayberry finished Philadelphia’s six-run first with his third homer since making his big league debut on May 23.
Xtra, xtra: Tropicana Field is the only park in the majors where a home run has been hit in every game this season. Rays LHP Scott Kazmir (right quad strain) felt good enough following his six-inning rehab outing at Triple-A Durham on Monday that he believes he’s ready to return to the rotation. The Rays won’t make a decision, though, until after watching him throw a bullpen session on Wednesday. Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge (right knee) worked one scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Single-A Clearwater in nearby Tampa (Associated Press - Sports).
Forget about the hip-hop and hard rock that reverberates through most big league clubhouses after an important win. The Tampa Bay Rays opted for something a little more fitting of a soggy Sunday.
"I can see clearly now," Johnny Nash's voice blared through a small stereo stuffed inside a locker, "the rain is gone."
B.J. Upton homered and matched a career high with four RBIs, Carl Crawford drove in a pair of runs and the Rays awoke from an offensive slumber with a 10-6 victory over the New York Mets, taking a road series twice interrupted by rain.
"When B.J. gets going, it gives guys a little more confidence," said Evan Longoria, who, like Upton, had four hits. "It was just one of those days where we felt pretty locked in."
The highest-scoring team in the majors managed only three runs in each of its last four games, but got four in the fifth inning and four more in the seventh, when Upton's two-run shot off Bobby Parnell (2-3) helped the Rays regain a lead they'd squandered an inning earlier.
"That ball was properly struck," Rays manager Joe Maddon said, adding an "Uff!" for emphasis.
Joe Nelson (2-0) won despite allowing a run for the first time in his last nine appearances, while the New York bullpen dropped to 1-7 in June.
The top three spots in the Rays order combined to go 11 for 16 with seven RBIs. A little further down, Jason Bartlett had a pair of hits and Gabe Kapler drove in two runs.
Brian Schneider hit a three-run homer and streaky David Wright added three hits for the Mets, who have won only one series this month, against last-place Washington.
"I felt that offensively we could still score on their bullpen," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "I was obviously wrong about that."
To make matters worse for Mets fans, a light sprinkle turned into a deluge that halted play for 34 minutes and sent them scurrying for the concourses - and in many cases the exits. That came after a 73-minute delay during a 3-1 Rays win the night before.
The Mets led 2-0 before Upton's two-run double in the fifth, and Crawford followed with a two-run single for the fifth consecutive hit off ineffective Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. He escaped the inning before getting pulled for a pinch hitter.
"If you don't execute your pitches, they're going to hurt you," Pelfrey said.
Maddon also turned to his bullpen early, yanking Jeff Niemann after four innings and 78 pitches - and with good reason. Tampa Bay relievers had allowed only two runs in their last 33 1-3 innings.
So much for that statistic.
Wright doubled into the gap in right-center leading off the sixth, and Ryan Church drew a one-out walk. Schneider followed with his second three-run homer of the series, a liner off the overhang in right that gave New York a short-lived 5-4 lead.
"It was good to get a little redemption for myself," Schneider said. "But what I'm really trying to do is just have a good at-bat."
The Rays know about hitting long balls too, getting homers from Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist in Saturday's win. Upton provided the power this time, driving a 2-1 pitch from Parnell out to left in the seventh inning, and Longoria and Kapler drove in two more runs after that to make it 8-5.
"I just happened to put the barrel out quick enough," said Upton, whose homer was only the second to land in the second deck in left at expansive Citi Field, according to hittracker.com. Carlos Beltran also did it May 9 against Pittsburgh.
"B.J.'s home run was magnificent," Maddon said. "Again, you get that momentum coming back your way and we just worked our way through it after that."
Xtra, xtra: Plate umpire Jerry Crawford left in the second inning with lower back pain. First base umpire Scott Barry finished behind the plate. Mets catchers have 48 RBIs, tops among NL catchers. Rays LHP Scott Kazmir (right quad strain) plans to throw 85 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Durham on Monday. Mets starters John Maine (right shoulder weakness) and Oliver Perez (patella tendinitis) each plan to start in a doubleheader Monday for Class A St. Lucie (Associated Press - Sports).
Johan Santana was back in fine form. That still wasn’t good enough to beat James Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking homer off Santana in the seventh inning Saturday, sending Shields and the Rays to a rainy 3-1 victory over the New York Mets.
“We wanted to win one for him,” Pena said. “This team bears down. We know who we’re up against.”
Shields allowed three hits in seven innings and retired his final 14 batters. He outpitched Santana, who rebounded nicely from the worst start of his career.
Both starters were lifted after a 73-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth. Dan Wheeler worked a perfect inning and J.P. Howell got three outs for his fourth save.
Ben Zobrist added a solo homer in the ninth, his 15th in a breakout season for the AL champions.
Outhit 5-4, the depleted Mets have another ailing star to worry about: Carlos Beltran plans to have an MRI exam Monday on his aching right knee.
Beltran, who said he intends to play Sunday, missed two games in late May and had a cortisone shot because of a bone bruise below the knee. Hobbling on the bases, he said he’s been feeling the same sensation as before and he wants a doctor’s opinion.
“If it’s something that’s going to get worse, I can’t be playing,” Beltran said.
Santana was tagged for nine runs and nine hits in three-plus innings Sunday, losing 15-0 in the Subway Series finale at Yankee Stadium.
The sluggish performance and diminished velocity on his fastball raised questions about Santana’s health, though he insisted he felt fine. After adjusting his mechanics during a recent side session, the ace left-hander looked more like himself Saturday against the top-scoring team in the majors.
“A lot of people were panicking and a lot of people were making comments that had nothing to do with the stuff that I do,” Santana said. “We were able to tell that something was wrong, put it back together and work on it. And you know, I feel much better today.”
Santana (8-5) squandered a 1-0 lead and took the loss, but didn’t allow a hit until Jason Bartlett’s one-out double in the fifth. He yielded three hits and three walks in a season-high 7 1-3 innings.
“Johan was back to normal. I didn’t think it would be a thing that would last a long time with him,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “I felt very confident that he would have a good outing.”
The two-time Cy Young Award winner showed better zip and command with his fastball, which clocked around 92 mph all game. That’s not Santana at his best, but it was a noticeable improvement from Sunday.
“Last game was just a bad game. We weren’t aggressive, we weren’t locating pitches the way they’re supposed to be located. We made some adjustments,” Santana said. “The release point, I think that was the difference.”
His strikeout totals, however, have dropped dramatically. Santana fanned three against Tampa Bay, giving him 11 over his last four starts. He averaged 8.6 strikeouts through his first 10 outings.
Gabe Kapler had an RBI double for the Rays, who snapped a three-game slide.
While Santana pitched well, the Mets reverted back to their early-season trend of not supporting him with much offense. Tampa Bay pitchers retired 19 in a row before Beltran’s two-out single in the ninth. Howell struck out David Wright to end it.
Making his 100th career start, Shields (6-5) won for the first time in five road outings since April 12 at Baltimore. The right-hander struck out four and walked none. The only run he allowed came on doubles by Ryan Church and Omir Santos in the second.
Five of Shields’ wins this season have come after Rays losses. He has stopped a five-game skid and a pair of three-gamers.
“It was a battle today,” Shields said. “I try not to feed off their pitcher—just go out and throw my game.”
With the score tied 1-all, Santana grooved a 92 mph fastball to Pena leading off the seventh and he got all of it.
The booming drive landed about five rows deep in the right-center bleachers, between the 408 and 415 signs, for Pena’s AL-leading 22nd home run.
“I think that ball was the longest home run since Lou Brock at the Polo Grounds,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I think our guys in general, after last year, like bigger games, like bigger crowds.”
Xtra, xtra: Rays LF Carl Crawford grounded into a double play for the second consecutive day and third time this season. Zobrist’s homer ended Sean Green’s scoreless streak at a career-best 15 2-3 innings (Associated Press - Sports).
Fernando Nieve has been quite a find for the New York Mets so far.
Nieve turned in another impressive start and Brian Schneider hit a three-run homer, leading New York to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. Filling in for injured John Maine, Nieve has yielded three runs in two outings against the Rays and Yankees - the highest-scoring teams in baseball.
"Oh, it's been a tremendous surprise. Obviously, a pleasant one. His history wouldn't have indicated he would be this good," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.
David Wright added an RBI double and Daniel Murphy had three hits for the Mets, who opened a 10-game homestand by improving to 6-10 in June. Francisco Rodriguez rebounded from a blown save with a perfect ninth inning.
In the first meeting between these teams since 2001, the Rays mustered little offence. B.J. Upton manufactured one run with his speed and later hit a two-run double.
The AL champions have dropped three straight following a season-best six-game winning streak. They fell to 14-22 on the road overall.
"We're just playing good enough to lose right now. We're just not getting the play, the hit or the catch," manager Joe Maddon said. "We're playing pretty well, actually, but it's tough to play from behind."
The injury-riddled Mets are 19-11 at pitcher-friendly Citi Field, with 13 wins in their last 18 home games.
Claimed off waivers in March and called up from the minors June 5, Nieve (2-0) has provided a much-needed boost for a depleted rotation that's also missing Oliver Perez.
"Here I feel more confident in all my pitches," Nieve said. "I want to show them that I can be in the rotation."
The 26-year-old right-hander made his first start for the Mets in a 6-2 victory at Yankee Stadium last Saturday, his first major league win in nearly three years.
He was just as good in this one, allowing one run and three hits in six innings.
"There's no doubt he's got good stuff," Schneider said. "He mixed everything in. His fastball jumps up to 95, 96 (m.p.h.) sometimes and I don't think a lot of people expect that."
His teammates have enjoyed playing behind Nieve, too.
"Two starts in a row he's just thrown gems," right fielder Ryan Church said. "He just gets the ball and goes. You know what you're going to get. He doesn't seem to get rattled."
Upton's two-run double off Bobby Parnell cut it to 4-3 in the seventh, but Pedro Feliciano retired Carl Crawford on a grounder back to the mound to preserve the lead.
Resurgent reliever Sean Green struck out three in the eighth, escaping a two-on jam. Church added a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off J.P. Howell to make it 5-3.
Rodriguez, who squandered a one-run lead in Thursday night's 5-4 loss at Baltimore, earned his 18th save in 20 chances.
"I felt a lot better today," he said. "Everything was working. I was throwing the ball where I wanted to. My command was perfect."
Schneider's shot off Andy Sonnanstine (5-7) in the second inning was his first homer since connecting twice on Sept. 18 at Washington, his former team. The drive to right-centre followed Gary Sheffield's single and a walk to Church.
"It was tough. Maybe I didn't give enough credit to Schneider," Sonnanstine said. "It was supposed to be an outside fastball and it kind of creeped back in. It's very frustrating."
Alex Cora singled to start the third and scored on Wright's two-out double off the right-field fence. Streaky all season, Wright snapped an 0-for-10 slide that came on the heels of a 24-for-43 surge.
Tampa Bay trimmed it to 4-1 in the sixth. Upton reached on an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Carlos Pena's RBI grounder.
Sonnanstine gave up seven hits in six innings, falling to 1-7 with an 8.22 earned-run average in nine starts on the road.
"It was one bad pitch, really," he said. "I felt confident and comfortable out there, but I do have to take ownership of this one as a loss."
Xtra, xtra: LHP Johan Santana, coming off the worst start of his career, faces Tampa Bay RHP James Shields on Saturday. Church also stole two bases for the first time in his career, giving him five this season. The Mets are offering deep discounts on certain tickets for this series and the upcoming one against St. Louis (Associated Press - Sports).
Rockies manager Jim Tracy put Ubaldo Jimenez in some impressive company before his outing against Tampa Bay.
Then, Jimenez went out and showed why.
"I see a lot of Pedro Martinez in him. The looseness in his arm and the way his arm works reminds me an awful lot of a young Pedro Martinez," Tracy said. "And I watched a lot of that sitting next to Felipe Alou while I was in Montreal."
Jimenez won his third straight start and Clint Barmes hit a two-run homer in Colorado's 4-3 victory over the Rays on Thursday.
"Ubaldo is a guy who is beginning to find his niche," Tracy said. "I still believe there's still another step on the ladder that he aspires to take and that is to become a bona fide ace-stopper type starting pitcher in the Rockies rotation."
Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez added solo homers for the surging Rockies, who have won 13 of 14. They took the final two in this three-game series after Tampa Bay snapped their 11-game winning streak Tuesday.
Jimenez (6-6) allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings, scattering six hits and three walks. He struck out seven and worked out of several jams.
"I had a good command of my fastball," Jimenez said. "When I was getting in trouble, I was able to stay back and just command my fastball inside or away, setting up my breaking pitches."
The right-hander was lifted after hitting Evan Longoria in the left arm with a pitch and walking Carlos Pena. Joel Peralta replaced Jimenez and retired Ben Zobrist on a deep fly to center.
Manuel Corpas pitched a scoreless eighth and Huston Street earned his 15th save in 16 opportunities despite giving up a two-run single to Zobrist in the ninth.
The Rockies are 7-2 in interleague play.
"We got beat again by good pitching and they have been on a roll pitching," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "And another game where we got beat by one inning."
Matt Garza (4-5) fell to 0-3 in his last six starts. The 2008 AL championship series MVP gave up four runs and five hits in five innings, the fourth straight time he has failed to get through the sixth.
"I have to pitch better than I did," Garza said, moments before breaking down in tears and hiding his head in a towel.
He hasn't won since beating Cleveland 4-2 on May 16.
Dioner Navarro hit an RBI single for the Rays, who lost for the second time in eight games.
Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the second. Jason Bartlett tripled to the center-field wall with two outs and scored on Navarro's bloop single.
Garza kept the Rockies hitless until Jimenez singled to right with one out in the third. The right-hander struck out Seth Smith, but Barmes drove a hanging slider into the left-field seats.
"I had seen three fastballs blow by me on my first at-bat," said Barmes, who sounded surprised that he got a breaking ball.
Two pitches later, Helton hit a long drive off the facade of the second deck in right and Colorado led 3-1.
"I left the pitch up to Barmes and he went up to get it," Garza said. "I had a fastball get away to Helton and he hit it out.
Maddon said that was the turning point.
"That inning was the one that got us," he said. "Statistics show that most games are lost in one inning and that was the one."
The Rays loaded the bases in the fourth on two-out singles by Gabe Gross and Bartlett and a walk to Navarro. Jimenez fanned Garza to avoid any damage.
"I'm not paid to hit," Garza said. "I'm paid to pitch."
Gonzalez homered in the fourth to make it 4-1, his first with the Rockies.
B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford opened the Tampa Bay ninth with singles and pulled off a double steal against Street. Longoria and Pena struck out ahead of Zobrist's single to center, but Street got Gross to line out to Barmes at second to end the game.
"We felt three or four times in the game that if the ball gets past someone, we can go ahead," Zobrist said. "That never happened enough."
Xtra, xtra: Bartlett has a career-high 13-game hitting streak. Tampa Bay is 6-3 in interleague play. The Rays have lost all three series they've played at Coors Field. The Rockies hit back-to-back homers for the fifth time this year (Associated Press - Sports).
A day after the Tampa Bay Rays ended the longest winning streak in the majors, the Colorado Rockies returned the favor.
Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run homer and Aaron Cook survived a shaky fifth inning that included homers by Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford as the Rockies snapped the Rays' six-game winning streak with a 5-3 win tonight.
The Rockies, who saw their 11-game winning streak come to a halt Tuesday with a 12-4 loss to the Rays, have won 14 of 19 since Jim Tracy took over as manager last month.
Cook (6-3) tied Colorado's franchise record with his 58th career win, a mark set by Jason Jennings. He allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings.
Manny Corpas pitched a perfect eighth and Huston Street pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.
Left-hander David Price (1-1) surrendered five earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings but couldn't keep the Rays from losing for just the second time in eight interleague games.
The Rockies jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to Tulowitzki's ninth homer and Chris Barmes' sacrifice fly that scored Clint Barmes, who had doubled, from third.
Pat Burrell started in right field for the Rays thanks to his 11-for-16 career mark against Cook — "I'd be an idiot to not have him in the lineup," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon declared.
The no-brainer move paid off when Burrell sliced a single to right field in the fourth, scoring Carlos Pena from third base to cut Colorado's lead to 4-1. He finished 1 for 3 against Cook.
After Chris Iannetta led off the bottom of the fourth with his ninth homer to make it 5-1, Carl Crawford (fourth) and Evan Longoria (16th) hit back-to-back shots off Cook with two outs in the fifth to make it 5-3.
Pena then drew a walk and second baseman Barmes' double error — a bobble and then an overthrow to first on Ben Zobrist's groundball — put runners at second and third. Burrell sent Cook's offering to the warning track in right field to end the inning.
Longoria also homered Monday night, when the Rays set a franchise record with a dozen extra-base hits, including five home runs.
Xtra, xtra: Rockies RHP Taylor Buchholz underwent Tommy John-style ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined a year. Crawford and Longoria also went deep back-to-back on May 7 against the Yankees. Rays SS Jason Bartlett extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. Price collected his first major league hit with an infield single in the third (Associated Press - Sports).
Troy Tulowitzki figured if he and the Colorado Rockies were going to lose for the first time in two weeks, they might as well lose big.
The Tampa Rays hit five homers among their franchise-record 11 extra-base hits and smashed Colorado's 11-game winning streak 12-4 on Tuesday night.
"It's not like we can say, 'Oh, it was a close game. If we'd have gotten that clutch hit in the end,'" Tulowitzki reasoned. "They beat us up pretty good. Now, we just start over tomorrow."
Colorado's winning streak was tied with Boston for the longest in the majors this season and also tied for the longest in Rockies' history, matching the mark set during their 21-1 run to the 2007 World Series.
Although they failed to make it an even dozen straight victories and climb back to .500, the Rockies have turned what was looking like a lost season into one in which they believe they'll contend deep into the summer, at least for the wild card.
"I think we've grown more confidence to know we can compete," Tulowitzki said. "But now the bar is set higher."
The longest winning streak in the majors now belongs to the Rays at six games. They got home runs from Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Gabe Kapler, Ben Zobrist and B.J. Upton.
Kapler, who tied his career high by driving in four runs, and Zobrist both finished a double shy of the cycle and Upton was a triple short.
Right-hander Jeff Niemann (6-4) benefited from the offensive outburst. Niemann (6-4) allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits and two walks in five innings in his first career start against the Rockies, who lost for the first time since June 3 at Houston.
"Boy, that was a fun win right there," Zobrist said. "Our pitching pitched well and kept the distance there once we got ahead early and the bats just kept pouring on."
Colorado is now 13-5 under manager Jim Tracy, who replaced Clint Hurdle after an 18-28 start.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said stemming Colorado's winning ways had as much to do with the law of averages as it did with his long ball-laden lineup.
"I know they had been playing at a very high level. It's hard to sustain that for a real long period of time," Maddon said. "... They are very good. The way they were pitching is hard to sustain all of that forever."
Aside from Jason Hammel's start on Sunday being stunted to 5 1-3 innings by a tornado warning and a long rain delay, all of the Rockies' starters had pitched into the seventh inning in June.
Not so Tuesday night. Jorge De La Rosa (2-7) was tagged for seven earned runs on eight hits in just 2 1-3 innings.
After giving up Longoria's 15th home run in the first, De La Rosa allowed a two-run triple to Kapler after third baseman Ian Stewart let his foul ball drop to the grass. Kapler scored on Dioner Navarro's single and Upton added a run-scoring double for 5-0 lead.
"We gave a hitter another pitch and we paid for it," Tracy said. "He hit the double in the gap, and things started to flow their way big-time. It's one extra pitch, and he blistered the ball in the gap."
Kapler sent De La Rosa to the showers with his fourth homer, a shot to left field that made it 7-1 in the third.
Pena hit his 21st homer in the fifth off reliever Josh Fogg and Zobrist connected for his 14th home run two innings later off Randy Flores. Upton made it five long balls with a two-run shot, his fourth, off Matt Daley in the eighth.
Upton said the last thing the Rays expected coming to Coors Field was a blowout like this one.
"We came in here ready to play a tight ball game and scored a lot of runs early," Upton said.
As for three players coming close to the cycle, Upton simply shrugged it off.
"There's wasn't anything unusual about it," he said. "We got some good pitches to hit and didn't miss many of them."
Xtra, xtra: This was the first game since a loss at Houston on June 1 that the Rockies never led. Hammel received his AL championship ring from the Rays on Tuesday, which he proudly showed off to teammates. "First of many, right?" he said (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays gladly took a break.
Pinch hitter Willy Aybar got a lucky bounce, doubling off the third base bag in the eighth inning, and the Rays completed a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-4 victory on Sunday.
"It's unusual to see that. I'll take it," manager Joe Maddon said after Tampa Bay's fifth straight win.
Carlos Pena opened the eighth with a double off Ron Villone (3-3). After Ben Zobrist struck out, Aybar hit a ball down the line that nicked the bag and angled away from third baseman Willie Harris into left field for the go-ahead hit.
"I think he would have made that play easy," Pena said. "I had to freeze, then I saw the ball take a weird hop."
Said Washington manager Manny Acta: "I think what preceded that was more important than complaining about breaks."
Gabe Kapler homered in his third straight game and drove in three runs for Tampa Bay. Dan Wheeler (2-1) worked a perfect eighth and J.P. Howell pitched the ninth for his third save.
"Collectively as a team, I want to us to enjoy the moment," Kapler said. "It was an enjoyable day."
The Rays' bullpen has not given up a run in its last 22 1-3 innings. Tampa Bay has 17 comeback wins this season, including all three games with Washington.
"When you've had a bit of success in the past, you kind of expect to win it somehow," Maddon said. "That's helped us the past few days.
Alberto Gonzalez drove in three runs for the Nationals, who have lost 15 of 18. Washington has been swept in seven series this year.
"We win as a team and we lose as a team," Acta said. "We haven't played the way we were expected to play. We're all accountable for what's going on."
Tampa Bay, which was down 4-0, tied it at 4 on Kapler's two-run homer in the sixth.
Kapler had a tiebreaking, pinch-hit home run n the eighth inning of the Rays' 4-3 win Friday night. He didn't hit any homers in his first 34 games this season.
Gonzalez put the Nationals ahead 1-0 on an RBI single in the second. He hit a two-run double off James Shields in a three-run fourth that made it 4-0.
"It's just tough for us," Harris said. "There's really no excuse for it. All you can do is go out there and put forth you best effort and see what happens. We're all trying."
Tampa Bay got within 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on Kapler's RBI single and a run-scoring sacrifice bunt by Dioner Navarro.
Shields gave up four runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. Washington rookie Ross Detwiler allowed four runs, six hits and five walks over six innings.
The AL champion Rays are three games over .500 for the first time this year.
"You stink together through those tough times like we did early, you're going to have a little shine here," Howell said. "We kind of see the light and know that if we keep going we're going to have a pretty good push here."
Xtra, xtra: Harris ran into a Nationals bullpen catcher while chasing Zobrist's foul ball in the eighth. Tampa Bay LF Carl Crawford was rested, but did enter as a pinch runner in the eighth. Washington LHP Scott Olsen (left shoulder tendinitis) allowed two runs and four hits over three innings in a minor league rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse. There has been at least one homer hit in all 33 games this season at Tropicana Field. The only other park in the majors to have a homer streak since from opening day is Yankee Stadium (32 games) (Associated Press - Sports).
Ben Zobrist started the season as the Rays’ super sub. Now he may have won a starting spot at second base.
Zobrist and Gabe Gross homered during a seven-run sixth inning and Tampa Bay beat the Washington Nationals 8-3 on Saturday night.
“He obviously does not want to be a part timer,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said of Zobrist, who has played second on a regular basis since Akinori Iwamura was lost for the season with a left knee injury on May 24.
Carlos Pena hit his 20th home run for Tampa Bay. The defending AL champion Rays moved two games over .500 for the first time this season.
“You’ve got to keep pushing, pushing, pushing,” Maddon said.
Andy Sonnanstine (5-6), who retired 15 batters in a row at one point, gave up three runs and six hits over 7 1-3 innings.
Ryan Zimmerman hit his 12th homer and drove in two runs for the Nationals.
Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed one run and four hits in five innings. He struck out six and left with a 2-1 lead.
“I made some good pitches when I had to,” Zimmermann said. “I had to battle pretty much every inning. I’d either walk a guy or they’d get a leadoff hit. It was a constant battle the five innings.”
Jason Bergmann (0-1) relieved for the Nationals and Evan Longoria led off with a single and Pena bunted for a hit.
Zobrist followed with a three-run shot—he has a career-high 13 homers this year, including five in his past 11 games.
“I feel good about playing anywhere,” Zobrist said. “I like being in the lineup, so if I can get in there wherever it is, I’m not going to be picky. I’m just feeling great about how the season has gone so far.”
After Pat Burrell walked, Gross extended the Rays’ advantage to 6-2 with a two-run homer. Bergmann gave up five runs without recording an out.
“I didn’t have a great sinker. I was trying to throw a strike instead of a good pitch and I think I made a mistake in that,” Bergmann said.
Longoria’s two-run double later in the inning against Jesus Colome made it 8-2.
The Rays have scored five or more runs in an inning 17 times this season, the most in the majors.
Zimmerman hit a solo homer in the first. The Nationals loaded the bases with no outs in the third, and Zimmerman had an RBI grounder.
“That was a key for us,” Nationals manager Manny Acta said of the third. “I thought that was an inning where we could have scored more runs and we couldn’t do much. We felt we had Andy on the ropes, but we couldn’t deliver a knockout punch.”
Pena homered in the fourth.
Longoria, who returned to the lineup Monday after being limited to pinch-hitting because of tightness in his left hamstring for six games, went 2 for 4. He has three hits in his last 26 at-bats, and struck out in the first and third innings with a runner in scoring position.
Rays reliever Jason Isringhausen left with pain in his right elbow after throwing a pitch in the ninth. He had surgery on the elbow last September.
“I don’t know what level, but there is concern,” Maddon said.
Isringhausen underwent tests after the game. The Rays said there would be more information on the injury Sunday.
Xtra, xtra: Iwamura will undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his knee on June 22. Nationals OF Josh Willingham was placed on the bereavement list after his younger brother was killed in a car accident Friday night. Sonnanstine has allowed 13 homers in his last seven starts, including five over the past two outings. Tropicana Field (32 games) and Yankee Stadium (31 games) are the only stadiums in the majors where at least one homer has been hit in every game this season (Associated Press - Sports).
Even though he's batting less than .200, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to show faith in Gabe Kapler.
That loyalty paid Friday night.
One pitch after an error prolonged his at-bat, the slumping Kapler hit a pinch-hit home run that snapped an eighth-inning tie and gave the AL champions a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Stuck in a 3-for-31 slide that dropped his batting average to .173, Kapler went deep against Ron Villone (3-2) after first baseman Nick Johnson dropped a pop foul that would have been the third out.
"I was screaming at the ball and I think it heard me and skipped off Nick's glove," Kapler said. "I guess I really wanted that opportunity."
Kapler primarily plays against left-handed pitchers and said he's extremely appreciative that manager Joe Maddon continues to pencil him into the lineup and bring him off the bench against lefties.
"One of the things I'm most impressed with this season is the fact I've struggled fairly significantly, and every time there's a lefty out there, I get the chance to start," Kapler said. "It tells me he believes I can get the job done."
Villone was on his way to an easy one-two-three eighth when Johnson settled under Kapler's pop foul. He made a slight adjustment at the last moment, but couldn't hold onto the ball.
"I just missed it. Plain and simple," Johnson said. "Saw it the whole way, just didn't catch it."
J.P. Howell (2-2), the fourth Tampa Bay pitcher, worked 1 1-3 innings to get the victory that moved Tampa Bay (32-31) one game over .500.
Another sloppy performance by the Nationals, who allowed two unearned runs, prompted manager Manny Acta to hold a team meeting.
"We have to make sure we don't give any extra outs," Acta said. "That really ends up biting us."
Washington's Elijah Dukes had a two-run double, helping his team take a 3-0 lead in his first trip to Tropicana Field since the Rays traded their former prospect to the Nationals after the 2007 season.
Dukes ability was never an issue during a turbulent stay in Tampa Bay's minor league system and one rocky season with the major league club. But his temper and several off-the-field transgressions were a hindrance, and the Rays eventually ran out of patience.
His first-inning double off Matt Garza set off a celebration among a group of family and friends who rose to cheer each time the 24-year-old, who went to high school in Tampa, came to the plate. Rays fans greeted him with scattered boos.
Adam Dunn drove in Washington's first run with a first-inning single off Garza, who allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Tampa Bay erased a 3-0 deficit with help from a throwing error by Nationals catcher Josh Bard that allowed B.J. Upton to trot home from third base after he and Carl Crawford executed a double steal in the third inning.
Dioner Navarro had a RBI single in the second and Gabe Gross doubled down the right field line off reliever Joel Hanrahan to drive in the last run charged to starter Craig Stammen to make it 3-3 in the sixth.
Stammen, one of four rookies in Washington's rotation, allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five.
Xtra, xtra: DH Pat Burrell returned to the Rays' lineup after missing 29 games with a neck strain and went 0-for-3 with a walk. Tampa Bay LHP Scott Kazmir (strained right quad) threw 44 pitches in a simulated game and likely will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Class A Charlotte in the middle of next week. Rays SS Jason Bartlett (left ankle sprain) began a rehab assignment at Charlotte. He went 1-for-4 with a walk as the designated hitter Friday and is expected play shortstop Saturday and Sunday before being evaluated. Washington RHP Kip Wells (groin strain) will pitch on consecutive days Saturday and Sunday for Class A Potomac. Nationals LHP Scott Olsen (left shoulder tendinitis) will make a rehab start this weekend with Triple-A Syracuse (Associated Press - Sports).
Right from the first pitch, the Tampa Bay Rays had their power stroke going.
