reflections
Rays Beat The Orioles And Umpire Tim Welke, 7-5 In Extra Innings

Read More: Joel Peralta (P – TAM), Johnny Damon (DH – TAM), Kyle Farnsworth (P – TAM), Casey Kotchman (1B – TAM), J.P. Howell (P – TAM), Ben Zobrist (RF – TAM), Mark Reynolds (3B – BAL), Juan Cruz (P – TAM), Felix Pie (LF – BAL), J.J. Hardy (SS – BAL), Justin Ruggiano (LF – TAM), Evan Longoria (3B – TAM), David Price (P – TAM), Matt Joyce (DH – TAM), Cesar Ramos (P – TAM), Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles, Jun 11, 2011 7:05 PM EDT

The Tampa Bay Rays (34-30) managed to beat the Baltimore Orioles (30-32) in a late-inning affair on Saturday night, coming up big in the top of the 9th and 11th innings.

David Price pitched well, but proved to be no match for home plate umpire Tim Welke. Though Price pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 runs, his real obstacle was deciphering Welke’s zone, which took form of a wobbly ghost:

Price_strikezone_dur_medium

Welke’s zone stung worst in 6th inning, when David Price threw three straight balls to Mark Reynolds, who homered then on the 3-0 fastball. Further inspection, however, reveals the offending 3-0 count was dubious if not criminal:

Price_surrenders_the_lead_medium

Reynolds’s 6th inning homer — his second homer of the night — gave the Orioles their first lead of the evening. The Rays promptly tied the game on a Casey Kotchman RBI infield ground ball single/error combo. The tied game did not last long, as Joel Peralta hit trouble quick in the bottom of the 8th. Allowing two hits and then two consecutive walks, Peralta walked in the leading run for the Orioles, giving them a 5-4 lead going into the 9th.

Then, in a stroke of both luck and magic, Ben Zobrist hit a one-out triple off Felix Pie’s glove, and Casey Kotchman slashed an line-drive RBI single into right center field.

With the game tied, the Rays relief duo of Cesar Ramos (1.1 IP) and Juan Cruz (0.2 IP, W 4-0) made the extra innings look easy. In the top of the 11th, Ben Zobrist again sparked the Rays offense, hitting a lead-off double, coming home on Evan Longoria’s RBI single. Casey Kotchman then lazered yet another hit, an RBI double this time, into right center field, giving the Rays a 2-run advantage.

Kyle Farnsworth then collected his 14th save, several times making the Orioles hitters look like emo high schoolers, as is Farnsworth’s way.

Notes from the game:

  • Justin Ruggiano made a near-Bugs-Bunny-climbing-the-Statue-of-Liberty catch, robbing J.J. Hardy from a 7th inning home run and starting a 1-2-3 inning for a much appreciative J.P. Howell.
  • Matt Joyce, despite working some good at bats and taking a walk, went 0 for 5. The hitters around him, however, went crazy. Johnny Damon, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, and Casey Kotchman put together a 13 for 23 night — good for 6 doubles, 1 triple, and a walk from Longo.
  • The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees both won today, meaning the Rays remain 4.0 games out of first place and 2.0 games behind the 2nd-place Yankees.

Images courtesy of BrooksBaseball.net.

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Zobrist leads Rays to 11-inning win

By

ROGER MOONEY

| The Tampa Tribune


Published: June 11, 2011

Updated: June 11, 2011 – 11:24 PM

BALTIMORE –

 They could have wilted in the steamy night air. They could have given into the demands of this long road trip and the fatigue that has set in by now after crossing the country twice.

They could have packed it in after the Orioles rallied for the lead once against David Price, then took the lead again on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth.

Instead, the Tampa Bay Rays kept playing, and because they kept playing, they played another extra-inning ballgame before finally dealing Baltimore a 7-5 loss in 11 innings.

“The story,” Ben Zobrist said, “was the way our team battled back there.”

And that’s coming from a guy who was a story himself, delivering an extra-base hit in each of his last four at-bats and scoring the tying run in the ninth and the winning run in the 11th.

“He really set the table for us,” Longoria said.

There were a lot of table-setters and busboys Saturday, from Johnny Damon, who singled and scored the game’s first run in the first inning, to Casey Kotchman, who drove in the tying run in the ninth and an insurance run in the 11th, to Longoria, who drove home Damon in the first inning and Zobrist in the ninth.

There were sparkling defensive plays by B.J. Upton, who did his Willie Mays impersonation and ran down a line drive by Adam Jones with an over-the-shoulder catch at the center field wall in the first inning, and Justin Ruggiano, who leaped above the left field wall in the seventh to rob J.J. Hardy of a home run. And Reid Brignac saved two runs in the eighth inning when he was spun around and knocked to the dirt while fielding a hard grounder by Hardy before turning it into the final out of the inning, leaving the bases loaded and the Orioles’ lead at 5-4.

“Just go around the field,” Joe Maddon said. “Somebody contributed.”

The Rays improved to 5-4 on this 11-game, four-city, coast-to-coast road trip that ends Monday with a makeup game in Detroit.

“We didn’t have a good game (Friday) and we knew (Saturday) we were going to come out and play better. It was just a matter of how we were going to do it,” Zobrist said.

“That’s just a good kind of win for us, to be able to come back late in the game and win in extras. That’s the second extra-inning game on this road trip, and that’s very good for our team confidence.”

The Rays took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning after Zobrist doubled home Damon and scored on a single by Kotchman in the top of the inning. Zobrist’s double was the first of his four extra-base hits.

But a leadoff home run by Mark Reynolds to start the bottom of the fifth started Baltimore’s comeback against Price, who admitted the humid night got to him.

“Sometimes we get spoiled playing in Tropicana Field,” Price said of the climate-controlled dome.

Reynolds capped the comeback with a two-run homer off Price in the sixth to grab a 4-3 lead.

Zobrist doubled again in the seventh and scored on a throwing error by Orioles second baseman Robert Andino.

The Orioles went back ahead in the eighth when Joel Peralta, who struggled, walked Brandon Snyder with two outs and the bases loaded.

Only the quick reaction by Brignac kept it a one-run game heading into the ninth.

“If Reid doesn’t make that play in the eight the game probably gets blown open and (closer Kevin) Gregg gets a little more comfortable trying to shut it down in the ninth,” Longoria said.

Gregg didn’t. Zobrist sliced a triple down the left-field line that nicked off the glove of a diving Felix Pie, then scored the tying run on Kotchman’s single.

The game moved to the 11th, which Mr. Extra-Base Hit himself, Zobrist, opened with a double. Longoria scored him with a single to center, then raced around the bases to make it 7-5 on Kotchman’s RBI double.

“I really think a couple of those were gifts from above, because Felix Pie usually makes that play on that dive,” Zobrist said. “It kicked away from him. That last one, the ball went right over the bag and hit right on the line, so it was a couple of gifts on the last two.

Zobrist’s four extra-base hits tied a team record now held by six players.

After that it was up to Kyle Farnsworth, who allowed a hit but nothing else for his 14th save in 15 tries.

Maddon harkened back to the 2008 season and days of 9=8 to categorize how the Rays won in extra-innings for the second time in their last three games.

“I really think it speaks to a professional attitude, I really do,” he said. “Our guys, when things aren’t going that well, they don’t get down. When things are going really well they don’t get too up about it. They keep grinding out the inning, keep grinding out the situation and I think we learned that over the last several years.

“Going to the playoffs two out of the last three years definitely teaches you that lesson. Winning an AL East title two out of the last three years teaches you that lesson. We talked about nine equals eight years ago; there’s a perfect example of it. Perfect.

“And now it’s a part of our culture.”

Gotta run!.

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Tampa Bay Rays rally back to beat Baltimore Orioles 7-5 in 11 innings

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Sunday, June 12, 2011


BALTIMORE — Rays manager Joe Maddon always talks about the importance of extra-inning wins on the road, how they reveal a team’s character.

So after Tampa Bay pulled out a second one on this 11-game, cross-country road trip, a 7-5 win in 11 innings over the Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday, Maddon was naturally thrilled. But it was not only that they won but how they did it, a complete team effort and never-say-die approach to help them overcome two late-inning deficits.

“We talked about 9=8 years ago, there’s a perfect example of that (Saturday),” Maddon said. “Perfect. Which I now think is part of our culture.”

Tampa Bay blew a three-run lead with ace left-hander David Price on the mound, but after all that went wrong in the 3-hour, 48-minute game, it was Evan Longoria who knocked in Ben Zobrist from third with a winning single in the 11th.

“I think from pitch No. 1 to whenever the game ends, we’re going to keep fighting,” Longoria said.

Zobrist had a great night with four extra-base hits, including three doubles, tying a club record set by “Super” Sam Fuld on April 11. That helped Tampa Bay (34-30) remain within four games of the red-hot Red Sox in the American League East and improve to 5-4 on the four-city, 12-day trip.

“We needed it,” Longoria said. “That was a big win for us.”

The Rays’ night appeared promising from the start, with the offense showing signs of life, picking up as many hits in the first two innings (three) as it had in the entire game in Friday’s 7-0 loss. Casey Kotchman racked up four hits, including the tying single in the ninth and another in the 11th to give the Rays a two-run cushion.

Tampa Bay also had a special night in the field, with centerfielder B.J. Upton making a spectacular over-the-shoulder basket catch to likely save a run in the first and leftfielder Justin Ruggiano robbing J.J. Hardy of a go-ahead homer in the seventh.

Price said he didn’t have his best stuff in a 117-pitch outing, allowing four runs on eight hits and two homers, both to Mark Reynolds. “My goodness, when he hits a baseball, it’s a helium ball,” Maddon said of Reynolds. “It doesn’t come down, it’s unbelievable.”

In a game filled with sparkling defense, arguably the biggest play was made by Reid Brignac in the eighth. Reliever Joel Peralta, after getting himself into a two-on, two-out jam, walked No. 8 and 9 hitters Robert Andino and Brandon Snyder, both on full counts, to drive in the go-ahead run. But with the bases still loaded, Brignac made a stellar stab at shortstop on a hard-hit grounder by Hardy, throwing him out to thwart the threat and keep it a 5-4 game.

“He saved the game,” Price said.

That enabled the Rays to rally to tie it in the ninth, on a one-out triple by Zobrist and a Kotchman single. They got solid relief from Cesar Ramos, Juan Cruz (who picked up the win) and Kyle Farnsworth, who had his 14th save in 15 chances to cap the second-extra inning win on the trip, after a 4-3, 10-inning victory Wednesday over the Angels.

“It,” Zobrist said, “was a great night.”

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.


Rays 7

Orioles 5

11 Innings


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Tampa Bay Rays Hope To Bounce Back Against Baltimore

By Daniel Russell

Staff Writer

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The Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles put their aces on the mound in game two.

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Jun 11, 2011 – Last night the Tampa Bay Rays were handed their fourth shut out of the season by the Baltimore Orioles. Tonight they look for revenge against the division rival. Both teams’ aces take the mound as David Price (last outing: 7 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 5 hits) and Jeremy Guthrie (5 innings pitched, 6 earned runs, 9 hits) square off in the miserably muggy Camden Yards. 

From Joe Maddon’s twitter: The weather was “Sweltering tonight. Guys were still dragging a bit, I could see it in their faces, but they fought. Should be full strength tomorrow.” In the middle of a four city road trip, the team arrived in a balmy Baltimore. RaysRepublic called the weather “nasty, sticky and oppressively hot.” Tonight looks to be no better as the temperature will fluctuate from the 90′s to 75 and in between with expected intermitten showers. 

Regardless, the Rays offense will hope to return to form with Matt Joyce back in the lineup. From mlb.com: ”Outfielder Matt Joyce, who is hitting .338 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs, is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday. Joyce was scratched from the lineup on Friday because of soreness in his left shoulder after having a cortisone shot on Thursday.”

On our Rays affiliate DRaysBay, writer Jason Collette noted the evening’s broadcast, which claimed the shot was “the 3rd one he’s had since the end of last season.” Cortisone shots reduce inflammation and soreness. They are not uncommon, but not encouraging either. The Rays certainly want to keep their best hitter off the Disabled List. An encouraging not from Marc Topkin, “Maddon said Joyce was feeling better and was ready to pinch-hit last night, if the situation arose.” Also from Topkin, Tonight’s Lineup:

Damon, DH
Zobrist, 2B
Joyce, RF
Longoria, 3B
Kotchman, 1B
Upton, CF
Jaso, C
Ruggiano, LF
Brignac, SS

After earning two hits with a few recent homeruns, Justin Ruggiano gets the nod again in left field. Look for him to continue the big swings and for Longoria to start producing like an all star again. Johnny Damon has made it on base 35 consecutive games and will likely do so again tonight. Two more, and he’s set the team record!

Read More: Jeremy Guthrie (P – BAL), David Price (P – TAM), Matt Joyce (DH – TAM), Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays

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Tampa Bay Rays news and notes: Bobby Ramos’ new role; Pajama party a success

Rays Report

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Saturday, June 11, 2011


Rays at Orioles

When/where: 7:05 tonight; Camden Yards, Baltimore

TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)

Probable starting pitchers

Rays

LHP David Price (6-5, 3.52)

Orioles

RHP Jeremy Guthrie (2-8, 3.71)

Watch for …

Price check: Price is coming off a strong outing in Anaheim, allowing one run, striking out seven and walking none over seven innings. He is 4-1, 2.52 in six starts against Baltimore. His only loss came on this year’s opening day, when he allowed four runs over seven innings.

Bounce back: Guthrie has lost his past two starts and gave up six runs over five innings his last time out against Toronto. He is 6-9, 4.17 in 18 outings against Tampa Bay.

Key matchups

Rays vs. Guthrie

Matt Joyce 8-for-20, HR

Casey Kotchman 8-for-20, HR

B.J. Upton 11-for-36, 2 HRs

Orioles vs. Price

Adam Jones 2-for-14

Nick Markakis 6-for-17

Luke Scott 2-for-13

On deck

Sunday: at Orioles, 1:35. Sun Sports. Rays — Wade Davis (4-5, 4.71); Orioles — Brian Matusz (1-0, 2.45)

Monday: at Tigers (makeup game), 7:05. Sun Sports. Rays — Alex Cobb (1-0, 4.24); Tigers — Phil Coke (1-6, 4.11)

Joe Smith, Times staff writer

Onesie no one-time wonder

Manager Joe Maddon labeled the pajama party-themed dress for the overnight flight from Anaheim to Baltimore a “huge success.” And LHP David Price said that won’t be the last time he wears his new onesie. “I’ll be wearing those, especially in the offseason,” Price said. “I’ll be wearing those quite a bit.”

New role of the day

Bullpen coach Bobby Ramos, below, served as bench coach Friday as Davey Martinez attended the high school graduation of his son, Jagger Lee. “We went out (Thursday) night, had some dinner, talked over strategy for today,” manager Joe Maddon said of Ramos. “He had his game face on since about 6 o’clock (Thursday) night.”

Quote of the day

“He has a sixth sense.”

— 3B Evan Longoria on C John Jaso, who made a dash to steal third during the 10th inning of Wednesday’s win over Anaheim


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Arrieta, Markakis carry Orioles past Rays 7-0

BALTIMORE – Nick Markakis broke a prolonged power slump with a grand slam and a two-run double, Jake Arrieta took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the surging Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-0 Friday night.

J.J. Hardy hit his second leadoff homer for the Orioles, who have won four straight to get within a victory of .500 (31-32). Hardy reached base all five trips to the plate and scored three runs.

Markakis’ third career slam, off rookie Jeremy Hellickson (7-4), put Baltimore up 5-0 in the second inning. Markakis had gone 88 at-bats without an extra-base hit since hitting a home run against Tampa Bay on May 15, and was mired in a 6-for-43 skid that dropped his batting average to .237.

He drove in two runs in the eighth off Andy Sonnanstine to establish a new career high in RBIs with six. He had six RBIs in his previous 27 games.

Arrieta (8-3) faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings, walking two, before Sam Fuld led off the sixth with a double. The right-hander ended up allowing two hits over seven innings and moved into a tie with Boston’s Jon Lester for the AL lead in wins.

Koji Uehara allowed one hit in the eighth and Mike Gonzalez worked a 30-pitch ninth to complete the three-hitter. It was the fewest hits Tampa Bay has mustered in a game this season.

Hellickson gave up five runs, a career high-tying seven hits and three walks in 5 2-3 innings. The right-hander was 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his previous seven starts and 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA lifetime against the Orioles, but neither trend continued in the worst outing of his big league career.

In his previous 15 starts, Hellickson allowed more than three earned runs only once — four runs on April 17 against Minnesota. Not only did he yield more runs than ever before, but he also surrendered two homers in a game for the first time.

Hellickson fell behind after throwing two pitches, the second one a hanging curveball that Hardy drove into the left-field seats. In his first career start in the leadoff spot Tuesday, Hardy began the game with a home run against Oakland’s Guillermo Moscoso.

Baltimore pulled away in the second. After a walk to Luke Scott, a double by Mark Reynolds and two-out walk to Hardy loaded the bases, Markakis hit a breaking pitch over the 25-foot scoreboard in right field.

Hellickson had given up only one home run in his previous six starts.

There were few offensive highlights for the Rays, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Johnny Damon led off the first inning with a walk, extending to 35 his career-high streak of games reaching base — the longest active run in the majors and two games short of Ben Grieve’s club record (in 2001). But he was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Arrieta struck out the side in the third. In the fourth, Ben Zobrist walked but was wiped out in a double play.

The Rays threatened in the sixth. After Fuld’s double, Justin Ruggiano got an infield hit and Reid Brignac popped out. Damon followed with a grounder up the middle that Arrieta tipped with his glove. Second baseman Robert Andino got the rebound with a backhanded grab and flipped the ball to shortstop Hardy, whose relay to first base completed the 1-4-6-3 double play.

NOTES: The start of the game was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 8 minutes. … Rays RF Matt Joyce was a late scratch, one day after getting a cortisone shot in his left shoulder. … Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria started for the first time since June 4. He was out with tightness in his left side and the flu. Earlier in the season, he missed 26 games with a strained oblique. “It seems to be one thing after another right now,” Longoria said. … The Orioles recalled 1B Brandon Snyder from Triple-A Norfolk to fill in for Derrek Lee, who was placed on the bereavement list Thursday and is expected to miss the entire three-game series. … Baltimore outrighted INF/OF Jake Fox to Triple-A Norfolk.

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

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Tampa Bay Rays’ top pick Taylor Guerrieri finally speaks but reveals little of past ‘incident’

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Saturday, June 11, 2011


ST. PETERSBURG — The unusual four days of silence since being the Rays’ first-round pick in Monday’s draft Taylor Guer­rieri was willing to explain: “I was at the beach with my family and friends just enjoying this whole opportunity.”

But otherwise, Guerrieri said little in his first public comments Friday to address questions about his past — specifically the decision to change high schools during his senior season — and concerns about his maturity and makeup.

If anything, he created more by referring several times to an “incident” but declining to provide any details or explanation.

“I’m not going to talk about it,” he said. “I’ve talked about it with the team, and they’re fine with it. It was just something minor. It wasn’t anything big. And we’ve moved on from it.”

South Carolina and Georgia public records and media reports don’t show any legal issues, though juvenile cases are not included. Guerrieri turned 18 in December.

“There’s been a lot of rumors. A lot of it’s not true,” he said. “That’s all I can really say. A lot of it’s not true. I’ve moved on from what happened.

“And that’s it.”

Rays scouting director R.J. Harrison said the Rays are not concerned and there has been “a lot of misinformation” and things being “blown out of proportion.”

Guerrieri wasn’t much more forthcoming about his future, saying he expects talks with the Rays — which are expected to start next week when Harrison visits — to be “a long process.”

He said he was “very excited” to be taken by the Rays with the No. 24 pick and considered it “a great opportunity,” but he also indicated he won’t be an easy sign given his commitment to the University of South Carolina.

“I’ve always pictured myself playing college baseball first before any professional baseball takes place,” he said. “Huge Gamecocks fan, still very committed to Carolina. I’m looking forward to the opportunity with them, too. It’s going to be a tough decision.”

Guerrieri spoke on a conference call, and another person could be heard at times whispering answers to him.

His official line is he transferred from North Augusta High (near Augusta, Ga.) 80 miles to Spring Valley High in Columbia, S.C., “to be closer” to the university campus, which is also in Columbia, and “just to get a feel for everything else up here.”

But why do so in late October of his senior year as opposed to during the summer?

“That’s the best time we thought we could do it,” he said. “Like I said, we had a little incident and moved on from it.”

Guerrieri was considered one of the top high school pitchers in the draft, and his fall to the Rays at the No. 24 spot also raised questions.

“We waited a little longer than we were expecting to, but it worked out just fine,” he said. “We’re in a good spot, we feel like.

“So we’re happy how it worked out.”

The No. 24 pick last year, Cal State Fullerton outfielder Gary Brown, signed with the Giants for a bonus of $1.425 million. The Rays have until Aug. 15 to sign Guerrieri, though they would get the 24th pick in next year’s draft if they don’t.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.


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Tampa Bay Rays’ Matt Joyce scratched with post-injection soreness in left shoulder

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Jun 10, 2011 06:04 PM


Tampa Bay Rays rightfielder Matt Joyce was scratched from tonight’s lineup with what the team called “post-injection soreness” in his left shoulder, which had bothered him the past week and a half.

Joyce, who ranks second in the league in hitting, was replaced by Justin Ruggiano, but says he expects to return to the lineup Saturday.

Joyce said with the team having an offday Thursday, he stayed in L.A. and had a cortisone shot taken, which resulted in some lingering soreness today. He said manager Joe Maddon suggested he back off a day, and Joyce added he could pinch-hit tonight if need be.

“It was something that I actually felt in the offseason, and had the same shot right before spring training and was good to go,” Joyce said. “Same thing, it started flaring up, take another shot and good to go.”

Manager Joe Maddon isn’t concerned about it, saying it was just a one-day thing.


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Rays’ OF Joyce out with sore shoulder

BALTIMORE (AP)—Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Matt Joyce(notes) has been scratched
from Friday night’s game against Baltimore, a day after getting a cortisone shot
in his left shoulder.

Joyce began the day with a .336 batting average, second best in the American
League. He said he was available to pinch-hit and thought he’d be ready to play
on Saturday.

Manager Joe Maddon said the team recommended Joyce get the shot on Thursday
in Los Angeles, an off-day for the Rays.

Joyce came to the ballpark complaining of soreness and was removed from the
lineup. He said he’d been feeling sore for past 10 days. Justin Ruggiano(notes)
replaced Joyce in right field.

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Tampa Bay Rays Vs. Baltimore Orioles: Game One Preview

By Bradley Woodrum

Editor

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The Rays and Justin Ruggiano look to stay hot against the Baltimore Orioles and push their win streak to four games.

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Jun 10, 2011 – The Tampa Bay Rays (33-29) are back in action today, visiting the Baltimore Orioles (29-31) for a three-game set. Taking the mound for the Rays, Jeremy Hellickson (7-3, 2.64 ERA, 3.67 FIP) looks for his third straight victory after having pitched exceptionally in the early going this year. Advanced statistics (like Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP) suggest Hellickson has been pitching a bit over his head lately, but hopefully his regression to expectations will not come too hard or soon because — even though the Orioles have been cellar dwellers in the AL East for some time — the 2011 Orioles present more of a challenge than in the past.

Particularly tough is tonight’s starter, Jake Arrieta (7-3, 4.93 ERA, 4.64 FIP), who has been the exact opposite of Jeremy Hellickson, in some respects, this year. Arrieta has an inflated ERA, near 5.00, but his expected FIP(4.20 xFIP) actually bests that of Jeremy Hellickson (4.32 xFIP).

One key to the Rays success lately has been the killer offense from minor league journeyman Justin Ruggiano. Since the calender struck June, Ruggiano has hit a dandy .333/.333/.600 slash over 15 plate appearances. He recent hot hitting may earn him a few more starts against right-handed pitchers, especially given Sam Fuld’s extended slump (he has hit a terrible .170/.200/.255 slash since the beginning of May.

Game Time: 7:05 p.m. ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Television: Sun Sports HD
Radio: WDAE 620 AM, WGES 680 AM

Read More: Sam Fuld (LF – TAM), Justin Ruggiano (LF – TAM), Jake Arrieta (P – BAL), Jeremy Hellickson (P – TAM), Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles, Jun 10, 2011 7:05 PM EDT

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