OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Expansion Revision: 1998 Devil Rays and beyond

Moriarty9 · 10-25-2009, 03:42 PM

Rays rally for walk-off win
Team enters All Star break on positive note
July 11, 2010

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jon Lester got the start, but Pedro Martinez got the win as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays put together a rally off of New York Yankees closer Tim Spooneybarger to finish the first half of the season with a 3-2 win.

Trailing 2-1 as Spooneybarger took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to pick up a save, the Devil Rays fought back and came up big. Gerald Laird greeted Spooneybarger by belting a 0-1 fastball 375-feet to left-center for a game-tying home run. After a Cliff Pennington flyball out to left field, Ryan Freel tripled to left-center field, putting the winning run on third base with two outs. The Yankees opted to intentionally walk Lastings Milledge, setting up a possible double play with the left-handed Josh Hamilton coming to the plate. Hamilton went after the first pitch offered, hitting a fly ball to centerfield that allowed the speedy Freel to tag up and score the game-winning run from third base.

Spooneybarger took the loss, falling to 1-2 with his third blown save of the season. It was a wasted start for Jim Parque, who held Tampa Bay to one run on five hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings.

Jon Lester avoided a tough loss after giving up two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings of work. Left-handed reliever David Price pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball before Pedro Martinez made his first relief appearance of the year, working 1 1/3 innings of perfect ball. As the pitcher of record when Freel came home with the winning run, Martinez improves to 5-9 on the season and lowered his bloated ERA to 6.63.

"Pedro was brought in because a lot of our relievers have had a lot of work lately, we wanted a right-hander in there after Price pitched, and we have the [All Star] break now, so it gets him a little work heading into the break," said Devil Rays manager Christian O'Neal.

Tampa Bay enters the All Star break with a 46-43 record, good for second place in the American League East where they trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 3.5 games. The Devil Rays are tied with the Chicago White Sox for second in the Wild Card race, 2.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins.

The Devil Rays players and coaching staff will have the next few days off as Major League Baseball celebrates the All Star Game. The coaching staff usually takes part in the exhibition game as the club has been a fixture in the World Series the last several seasons. This year's representatives are pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Josh Hamilton.

Lackey is 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA while Hamilton is hitting .303 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI.

10-25-2009, 03:42 PM	#656 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,858 Thanks: 10 Thanked 3x in 3 posts	Rays rally for walk-off win Team enters All Star break on positive note July 11, 2010 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jon Lester got the start, but Pedro Martinez got the win as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays put together a rally off of New York Yankees closer Tim Spooneybarger to finish the first half of the season with a 3-2 win. Trailing 2-1 as Spooneybarger took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to pick up a save, the Devil Rays fought back and came up big. Gerald Laird greeted Spooneybarger by belting a 0-1 fastball 375-feet to left-center for a game-tying home run. After a Cliff Pennington flyball out to left field, Ryan Freel tripled to left-center field, putting the winning run on third base with two outs. The Yankees opted to intentionally walk Lastings Milledge, setting up a possible double play with the left-handed Josh Hamilton coming to the plate. Hamilton went after the first pitch offered, hitting a fly ball to centerfield that allowed the speedy Freel to tag up and score the game-winning run from third base. Spooneybarger took the loss, falling to 1-2 with his third blown save of the season. It was a wasted start for Jim Parque, who held Tampa Bay to one run on five hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings. Jon Lester avoided a tough loss after giving up two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings of work. Left-handed reliever David Price pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball before Pedro Martinez made his first relief appearance of the year, working 1 1/3 innings of perfect ball. As the pitcher of record when Freel came home with the winning run, Martinez improves to 5-9 on the season and lowered his bloated ERA to 6.63. "Pedro was brought in because a lot of our relievers have had a lot of work lately, we wanted a right-hander in there after Price pitched, and we have the [All Star] break now, so it gets him a little work heading into the break," said Devil Rays manager Christian O'Neal. Tampa Bay enters the All Star break with a 46-43 record, good for second place in the American League East where they trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 3.5 games. The Devil Rays are tied with the Chicago White Sox for second in the Wild Card race, 2.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins. The Devil Rays players and coaching staff will have the next few days off as Major League Baseball celebrates the All Star Game. The coaching staff usually takes part in the exhibition game as the club has been a fixture in the World Series the last several seasons. This year's representatives are pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Josh Hamilton. Lackey is 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA while Hamilton is hitting .303 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI.