Rays Blog

In the first game of their big series with the Boston Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays came out on top with a 5-4 win.  The defending champion Red Sox were no match for the Rays tonight as the Rays got some great starting pitching from James Shields and some timely hitting.  The Rays are now 50-32 this season.

James Shields started on the mound for the Rays and got his sixth win of the season.  He went 6.1 innings and gave up only two runs.  He also struck out five batters while walking only one.  Troy Percival came on in the ninth inning to close out the game but gave up a couple of runs before leaving the game with two hits with an apparent injury.  JP Howell came on to get the last out and his second save of the year.

The Rays got on the board right away in the first inning on a BJ Upton solo home run.  After the Red Sox picked up a run in the fourth the Rays got a couple of runs right back on a Gabe Gross two run homer.  Gross had two of the Rays six hits on the game as they made the most of the hits they were able to get.  Gross also walked twice.  Great production out of the number eight hitter.

The Rays and Sox will play the middle game of their three game set tomorrow night.  Matt Garza will go up against Tim Wakefield.  Game time is 7:10pm.

After winning the opening game of their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates the Tampa Bay lost on Saturday night but finished off the series with a win on Sunday afternoon.  The Rays lost in 13 innings on Saturday night by a score of 4-3 and then won on Sunday afternoon by the same score.  The Rays are now 49-32 on the season.

Edwin Jackson started Saturday’s game and turned in a solid performance.  Jackson lasted 6.2 inning and gave up three earned runs.  Gary Glover added three innings of relief pitching and allowed no runs.  His performance really helped the Rays stay in this game.  However, Jason Hammel came on in relief of Glover and gave up a Jason Bay home run in the bottom of the 13th to end the game.  Jason Bartlett was the only Ray with more than one hit, he also drew a walk.  Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run in the 8th to force extra innings.  Evan Longoria added a sacrifice fly.

On Sunday Andy Sonnanstine started for the Rays and turned in his longest outing since May 16th.  He lasted 7 innings on Sunday and gave up two runs and only one of them was earned.  Sonnanstine struck out four to help him earn his ninth win of the season.  Dan Wheeler threw a scoreless 8th inning and Troy Percival threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his 19th save of the season.  Shawn Riggans hit a solo home run in the fourth to start the scoring in the game.  Riggans added a pair of singles and led the club with two RBI.  Carl Crawford struggled at the plate as he went 0-5 with three RBI.  The Rays struck out ten times and left eleven men on base or they could have done some more damage.

The Rays have wrapped up their inter league schedule and will start a huge series with the Boston Red Sox on Monday in Tampa Bay.  James Shields is scheduled to start the opening game.  Game time is 7:10pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays bats were going in full swing on Friday as they helped their team thump the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-5.  Scott Kazmir started for the Rays and got the win, he continues to look more and more like an All Star.  The win moves the Rays to 48-31.

Kazmir started on the mound and didn’t exactly pitch his best game of the year.  Still, a win is a win.  Kazmir lasted only five innings and gave up four runs, three of them earned.  He struck out four men and walked three.  He moved his record to 7-3 on the season.  The Rays pen threw the final four innings and gave up only one run to help save the win for their club.

The Rays offense got their runs in bunches against the Pittsburgh pitching staff.  Evan Longoria hit a three run homer in the first inning and Eric Hinske also hit a three run homer, his coming in the third inning.  Carl Crawford added a solo shot in the sixth inning.  Longoria led the team with four hits, he added three RBI and scored three runs himself.

The Rays and Pirates will play again on Saturday evening in Pittsburgh.  Edwin Jackson will start for the Rays.  Game time is 7:05pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued their winning ways as they won for the seventh time in their last nine games.  The Rays won on Wednesday over the Marlins 15-3 and won on Thursday afternoon by a score of 6-1.  The Rays are now 47-31 this season.

James Shields got the start on Wednesday and received plenty of run support.  Shields last seven innings and gave up only one run to pick up his fifth win of the season.  Shields didn’t walk a single batter and struck out five.  Jason Hammel and Gary Glover each gave up a run in relief.  The Rays offense got a most of their damage done in fifth inning when they scored ten runs.  Every single player in the lineup scored in the inning.  Carl Crawford led the way with two home runs and five RBI.  Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist also homered for the Rays.

The offense was the story on Wednesday but Matt Garza was the story for the Rays on Thursday.  Garza took a no-hitter into the seventh inning but lost it on a Hanley Ramirez solo homer.  That would the only run and the only hit that Garza would allow.  He struck out ten batters and walked only one as he threw a complete game to pick up his sixth win of the year.  Evan Longoria homered for the second straight game and how has 14 of them on the season.  Back up catcher Shawn Riggans had a double and three RBI for the Rays.

Now that they have completed their sweep of the Marlins the Rays will head to Pittsburgh to start a three game series with the Pirates on Friday.  Edwin Jackson will start the opener.  Game time is 7:05pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued on their most recent hot streak with a 6-4 win in Miami against the Florida Marlins.  The Rays topped the Marlins earlier in a series in Tampa and are now looking to do the same thing in Miami.

Andy Sonnanstine started for the Rays and went his usual five innings.  Sonnanstine gave up two runs and struck out five Marlin batters.  Sonnanstine received a no-decision.  JP Howell came on after Sonnanstine and went two innings to move his record to an impressive 6-0.  Troy Percival came on in the ninth inning and walked four batters and allowed a run.  He was able to get the three outs and pick up his 18th save.

Akinori Iwamura led the Rays with three hits.  He also added two runs scored and drove in two runs as well.  Carl Crawford had two hits and two runs scored.  Dioner Navarro reached base three times as he doubled and drew a pair of walks.  The Rays scored twice in the 8th inning on bases loaded walks.

The Rays and Marlins will play the middle game of their three game series tomorrow.  James Shields is going to start for the Rays and the game is scheduled to start at 7:10pm.

Even with Scott Kazmir on the mound the Tampa Bay Rays were unable to pick up a win on Sunday afternoon.  Kazmir was solid but the offense really struggled to get much of anything going against the Astros pitching staff.  They lost 3-2 to drop to 44-31 on the season.

Kazmir started on the hill and went 5.2 innings.  While he struck out seven men, he did give up two home runs and all three of Houston’s runs.  Kazmir is now 6-3 on the season.  Grant Balfour was very impressive in relief of Kazmir.  He got six out and four of them came via the strike out.  The Rays bullpen was terrific and kept the team in the game.

The Rays took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on an Evan Longoria two run home run.  The Rays lineup could muster only six hits all game and no player collected more than one.  They were able to work six walks but left seven men on base to end innings and just couldn’t get any runs past the second inning to get back into the game.

The Rays will take a day off on Monday and will look to get back on track with some wins.  On Tuesday they will start a series with the Florida Marlins.  Andy Sonnanstine will start the opener.  Game time is 7:10pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Houston Astros in dramatic fashion.  A Gabe Gross two run double in the bottom of the ninth led the Rays to a 4-3 win in Tampa Bay.  The win helps heal the wounds from last night’s loss and moves the Rays to 44-30.

Edwin Jackson got the start and was quite effective.  Jackson lasted 6.1 innings and gave up only two runs.   Jackson also struck out three and walked three batters and it all resulted in a no-decision.  Dan Wheeler got two outs in the top of the ninth inning to pick up the win.

The Rays got their first run in the fourth inning courtesy of a Carl Crawford RBI triple.  In the fifth inning the club got a solo home run from Justin Ruggiano, his first of the season.  Then they got the bases loaded double from Gabe Gross in the ninth to win the game for Tampa.

These same two teams will play the rubber game of this series tomorrow afternoon.  Scott Kazmir will start on the mound for the Rays.  Game time is 1:40pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays saw their modest winning streak come to a close at the hands of the reeling Houston Astros.  The Astros got strong pitching from Roy Oswalt and won 4-3 on Friday night in Tampa Bay.  The Rays fell to 43-30 on the year.

Matt Garza started on the hill for the Rays and helped keep them close but was charged with his fourth loss of the season.  He lasted six innings and gave up all four Astro runs (three earned) while striking out eight and walking only two.  He was pulled after throwing 113 pitches.  Gary Glover threw 2.2 innings of shut out relief to keep the Rays in the game.

The Rays allowed two runs in the first but got one back on an Eric Hinske RBI single in the bottom of the first.  Hinske had another RBI single in the 8th inning to bring the Rays to within 4-2.  In the ninth inning, Dioner Navarro hit a solo homer off of close Jose Valverde but it was all they would get as they fell just a run short.  Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske each had two hits for Tampa.

This series will continue tonight as these two teams meet in the middle game of their three game series.  Edwin Jackson will take the mound for the Rays as he searches for his fifth win of the season.  Game time is 6:10pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays turned in one of their most impressive series of the season as they finished off a sweep of the Chicago Cubs.  The Rays used a seven run seventh to beat the Cubs by a score of 8-3.  The Rays upped their record to 43-29 on the season.

James Shields made his first start following his suspension and threw an excellent game.  Shields lasted 6.1 games and struck out nine batters.  However, he did allow seven hits and three runs and received a no-decision.  Grant Balfour picked up the win after throwing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.  Balfour is now 2-0 on the season and his ERA is now below 2.00.

The big blow in the seven run seventh inning for the Rays was a Carl Crawford grand slam.  Crawford led the Rays with three hits while no other Rays batter managed more than one.  Eric Hinske doubled, drove in a run and scored two to help the Rays offense.  Every Rays starter had at least one hit except for Gabe Gross who went 0-3.

The Rays will stay at home and welcome another NL Central team to town in the Houston Astros.  Matt Garza will start for the Rays as he searches for his sixth win of the season.  Game time is 7:10pm.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago Cubs for a second straight day.  The game was televised on ESPN, something the Rays will have to get used to as they just keep winning and winning.  They topped the Cubs last night in Tampa 5-4.  The Rays are now 42-29.

Andy Sonnanstine started for the Rays and picked up his eighth win of the season.  Sonnanstine lased only five innings and gave up three Cub runs.  He walked two and struck out four.  Troy Percival came on in the ninth inning to protect a 5-3 lead.  He coughed up a solo home run to Geovany Soto, but locked up the win and his 17th save of the year.

The Rays got all five of their runs in the first three innings, including four in the third inning off of Carlos Zambrano.  The Rays got only one extra base hit (a Carl Crawford double) and only not a single player had more than one hit.  However, it was enough to get the win.  Akinori Iwamura walked twice and scored twice while Crawford added a walk and a run scored to his double.

The Rays will look to sweep the Cubs as they wrap up their series on Thursday night.  James Shields is back from his suspension and will get the start.  Game time is 7:10pm.