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Moriarty9 · 12-11-2008, 12:23 PM

Hernandez wins pitchers' duel
Vaughn leads offense in 3-2 victory
May 13, 1998

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Livan Hernandez and Jose Rosado did their best to hold their respective opponents quiet, but Greg Vaughn made plenty of noise as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays edged out the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, at home.

Hernandez improved to a surprising 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA after giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out six, over eight innings of work. Rosado was not charged with the loss for Kansas City after yielding two runs on six hits and one walk, with four strikeouts, over 6 1/3 innings.

"Livan has been so reliable," said Tampa Bay manager Christian O'Neal. "We thought he had a lot of upside, but for a guy with 13 or so innings of big league experience to do what he's done, on an expansion team, is pretty remarkable."

Helping Hernandez was Vaughn, picked up as a free agent after the season had started. Batting cleanup as the designated hitter, Vaughn went 2-for-4 with a home run and what would prove to be the game-winning hit, a RBI single with two out in the eighth inning.

Wilton Guerrero led off the eighth with a bloop single off Royals reliever Mike Perez, and advanced to second on a Mike Cameron sacrifice bunt. Will Clark struck out, bringing Vaughn to the plate. Vaughn and Perez squared off in a seven-pitch at bat that included three foul balls before singling into leftfield, pushing Guerrero across the plate. Devil Rays closer Rick Aguilera had his best performance of the season in the ninth, retiring the side in order on seven pitches.

"Greg has been huge for us, he really has," O'Neal said. "He's done nothing but produce."

Vaughn is hitting .320 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 50 at bats since joining Tampa Bay. He hit just .206 with 13 home runs in 129 games with the San Diego Padres last season and found himself without a job when this season opened.

"The Devil Rays organization gave me a shot when nobody else would and now I'm doing everything I can to give them a return on their investment and show the whole league what I can still do," said Vaughn.

12-11-2008, 12:23 PM	#15 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,323 Thanked 1x in 1 post	Hernandez wins pitchers' duel Vaughn leads offense in 3-2 victory May 13, 1998 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Livan Hernandez and Jose Rosado did their best to hold their respective opponents quiet, but Greg Vaughn made plenty of noise as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays edged out the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, at home. Hernandez improved to a surprising 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA after giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out six, over eight innings of work. Rosado was not charged with the loss for Kansas City after yielding two runs on six hits and one walk, with four strikeouts, over 6 1/3 innings. "Livan has been so reliable," said Tampa Bay manager Christian O'Neal. "We thought he had a lot of upside, but for a guy with 13 or so innings of big league experience to do what he's done, on an expansion team, is pretty remarkable." Helping Hernandez was Vaughn, picked up as a free agent after the season had started. Batting cleanup as the designated hitter, Vaughn went 2-for-4 with a home run and what would prove to be the game-winning hit, a RBI single with two out in the eighth inning. Wilton Guerrero led off the eighth with a bloop single off Royals reliever Mike Perez, and advanced to second on a Mike Cameron sacrifice bunt. Will Clark struck out, bringing Vaughn to the plate. Vaughn and Perez squared off in a seven-pitch at bat that included three foul balls before singling into leftfield, pushing Guerrero across the plate. Devil Rays closer Rick Aguilera had his best performance of the season in the ninth, retiring the side in order on seven pitches. "Greg has been huge for us, he really has," O'Neal said. "He's done nothing but produce." Vaughn is hitting .320 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 50 at bats since joining Tampa Bay. He hit just .206 with 13 home runs in 129 games with the San Diego Padres last season and found himself without a job when this season opened. "The Devil Rays organization gave me a shot when nobody else would and now I'm doing everything I can to give them a return on their investment and show the whole league what I can still do," said Vaughn.