DUNEDIN, FLA. - 

When the Tampa Bay Rays entered the visiting clubhouse Friday they didn’t look like they were headed for the batting cage.

Judging from their hair cuts they were ready for a mass or a WWE battle royal, steel-caged match.

Many Rays had their heads shaved Thursday in Port Charlotte to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation.

“Some asked to have their heads shaved, some, like me, asked for No. 1 clippers,” said Jose Molina sporting tiny sprouts of hair.

The shearing has raised $5,025 as 37 uniformed players plus 34 office staff got trimmed. Money should continue to flow in as the Rays took batting practice before playing the Blue Jays wearing yellow t-shirts which read “Fortune Favours the Bald” along with a ball cap and sun glasses atop it … like Rays manager Joe Maddon wears his glasses.

“Everyone talks about participating and doing something to help,” said Maddon, who was asked by Tampa Bay Lightning star Lecavalier to participate.

“This was more than a ball team having a social conscience, our guys really felt it. I can’t think of a more noble cause.”

Maddon told of talking with a grandmother at the hair-cutting ceremony: “She said she’s suffering twice … once for her daughter, a second time for her grand-daughter who has cancer.”

Even Rick Vaughn, not to be confused with Ricky Vaughn in the movie Major League, had less than a buzz cut. The Rays’ crack vice-president, Vaughn told of a child who had lost her hair during cancer treatment looking at Evan Longoria and others, saying “mom, the ball players look like me now.”

Maddon has always been known for team building whether it’s the all-black trip (where the Rays hit the road dressed like Johnny Cash) or their all-whites (for a visit to Miami). 

Those were fun, this is a worthwhile cause.

And while perhaps you’ve heard a moan or two — or 5,000 — from Jays fans about how they have to compete in the big bad American League East with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, you won’t hear it from Maddon.

The Rays reached post-season a year ago with the 21st highest payroll ($71.9 million US) when they finished ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

They ranked 29th ($41.9) when they won the division finishing ahead of both the Yanks and the Red Sox.

And they ranked 29th ($43.8) when they lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Not one time have I spoken to anyone in that clubhouse who has said ‘we don’t have enough money to spend,’ or ‘why didn’t we spend on this guy.’ It’s about who plays the game better,” Maddon said.

Rays general manager Andrew Friedman and scouting director R.J. Harrison deserve credit for assembling the talent on a budget. Maddon says there is another reason why the Rays have fared so well: Major League Baseball’s drug policy.

“The game has changed,” Maddon said. “Numbers have come down. We wouldn’t be able to afford a guy with 40 homers or 120 RBIs.

NICE TO MEET YOU TOO: Last August when the Rays came to the Rogers Centre Maddon placed a call to the man upstairs.

The Rays manager asked if Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos could come to his office.

“Alex walks in and I said right off ‘I don’t like you,’” said Maddon with a smile. “Alex and the Blue Jays are doing everything right. That’s why I joked I didn’t like him. He’s morphing the old (scouting) with the new (analytics).

“The Jays could be scary this year, they were scary last year.”

The Jays were still in the water on Lake Placid at 81-81 in 2011.

“There’s a big difference in wanting to win and believing you are going to win, I went through it with this club here,” said Maddon, who believes that in years to come teams won’t be defined by their managers.

“Used to be a manager would get fired, the GM would bring in a guy with a different philosophy. Now you’ll see the GM in control. If he makes a change he’ll bring in a manager who agrees with his philosophy.”

GAME ON: Travis Snider homered, his fourth, off Jhonny Nunez, but he also ran up the back of J.P. Arencibia when Elliot Johnson banged against the centre field fence trying to catch a Snider drive in the fourth.

Colby Rasmus scored on the play but the Rays threw out Snider heading back to first. “You have to run with your head up,” manager John Farrell told reporters

Yunel Escobar, Arencibia and Snider each had a pair of hits in the 5-0 win over the Rays.

Following up Ricky Romero, Chad Jenkins pitched three scoreless innings, while Jason Frasor and Andrew Carpenter worked a scoreless inning each.

The four Jays pitchers held the Rays to a bunt single by Brandon Guyer and a single to right by Chris Gimmenez. Longoria was held hitless in three at-bats.  

YOU’RE INVITED: Ken Carson, formerly the Jays trainer and travelling secretary, who moved south to run the Jays’ operations will marry Lillian Simmons on Aug. 11. And everyone is invited. Simmons and Carson will be wed at home plate at the Rogers Centre.

They’ve already invited the New York Yankees and the Jays to attend the Saturday afternoon game. 

Both parties have accepted.

Simmons and Carson are allowing the teams to use the field for a 1:07 first pitch as part of the reception. 

FRIDAY’S GAME

Jays 5, Rays 0

* Ricky Romero pitched five scoreless with 4 Ks

* Jason Frasor had a scoreless outing

* Two hits each for Yunel Escobar, J.P. Arencibia, Travis Snider

* Snider hit his 4th HR

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Rays face a problem most teams would love to have: a surplus of starting pitchers.

On Tuesday, manager Joe Maddon used two of them – David Price and Matt Moore – in the same game.

Price worked into the fourth inning, and Moore made his spring debut with a hitless 1 2-3 innings in the Rays‘ 7-7 10-inning tie with the Baltimore Orioles.

Price threw 60 pitches in 3 2-3 innings and allowed the Orioles‘ biggest inning of the spring – four runs – keyed by a three-run homer by Jai Miller. Miller also had two doubles.

Moore, the heralded left-hander who made his major league debut in mid-September and started the first game of the ALDS against Texas on Oct. 1, struck out three and walked one after missing time with abdominal soreness.

It was Price’s third start of the spring, and he hadn’t allowed a run in his first three innings. In his last start March 8, Price suffered a neck spasm after drying himself with a towel. It turned out to be nothing serious, but Maddon joked before the game that it was B.Y.O.T. for the Rays.

Price said he air dried this time, but the attention was on Moore, who showed enough to the Rays that they signed him to a five-year contract after just three regular-season games.

”Matt Moore was exceptional today. He looked pretty comfortable out there,” Maddon said.

Maddon watched Moore throw simulated games and was impressed.

”He was throwing really well there too, but not as sharp as I saw today,” Maddon said.

Moore joked that he had already worked in the playoffs, but spring training presented other problems.

”Now, the butterflies are out of the way,” he said. ”It was a warm day, so it didn’t take much for me to get my body going. I felt like I’m supposed to feel.”

Price had hoped to complete four innings.

”We’re getting there,” he said.

He was happy to see another left-hander do well and liked Moore’s stuff, too.

”He’s got the equalizer on the changeup,” Price said. ”Most hitters don’t see that very good.”

Tampa Bay scored five runs in the ninth for a 7-5 lead, and Ryan Flaherty hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning for the Orioles.

Baltimore scored its most runs of spring training.

”We had some good at-bats. It’s the time of the spring where you start getting some more sense of urgency as you move forward,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Starter Jason Hammel pitched three innings for the Orioles, allowing one run and a hit.

Notes: Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts, who hasn’t played since last May because of a concussion, took batting practice and fielded ground balls before the game. It was the first time he’s done that in public view. ”It’s one thing to hit on the back field with three coaches shagging and another thing with all the guys out there and people in the stands and music on,” Roberts said. … Orioles OF Nick Markakis will play Wednesday for the first time after January surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle. He’ll be the designated hitter and isn’t scheduled to play in the field until March 20. … Rays DH Luke Scott faced Baltimore for the first time since the team didn’t renew his contract in December. He was 0 for 2 with a walk. … Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria was hitless in three at-bats in his second spring game. … Maddon will have his head shaved Thursday to generate awareness for pediatric cancer. He’s encouraging his players to join him. ”If you want to get your hair cut off, 80-degree weather is the perfect time,” he said.

PORT CHARLOTTE — Rays RHP Alex Cobb said he has been upset with his fastball location during camp, even though Friday was just his second appearance since August surgery.

Cobb found little solace after he watched, and heard, one of his errant fastballs hit Orioles LF Nolan Reimold in the jaw in the first inning of a 3-3 tie at Charlotte Sports Park.

Reimold was on the ground for several minutes before getting up on his own. He was carted off the field and taken to a hospital, where a CT scan was negative. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the ball hit Reimold’s helmet and jaw equally, and he was relieved to hear Reimold had no breaks, just a loose tooth, but it could have been worse.

Said Cobb, “That’s probably the worst feeling you can have as a pitcher is seeing someone like that, being the cause of a guy taking a step back in his career possibly. It’s just something you never want to see on a baseball field. And when you’re the cause of it, it’s a feeling you can’t describe.”

Said Rays manager Joe Maddon: “It’s an awful feeling, an awful moment for everybody.”

Cobb said he got Reimold’s phone number through their common agent and planned to check on him. Other than that moment, Cobb was happy with how he felt during his three shutout innings, in which he allowed two hits and two walks and struck out two.

The fastball command will come as he works his way back from surgery to remove a blood clot and blockage in the area of his first right rib.

“He’s got great fight,” Maddon said. “When you hit someone like that, it can be unsettling, but he was okay after that, and I liked that. That’s just part of this game; it stinks sometimes.”

ON TRACK: 3B Evan Longoria (bruised right hand) was encouraged after taking batting practice, and he hopes to play in the next few days.

Longoria, who has been limited since getting hit by a Matt Bush pitch March 1, said he felt great after taking his regular swings in the cage.

The key will be any residual soreness Longoria has today; he didn’t expect any. Longoria planned to face LHP Matt Moore in live batting practice today. Though he doesn’t want to put a timetable on his return, if all goes well, Longoria could be in the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

“It’s only been, what, five, six days, but it always seems like eternity,” Longoria said of being sidelined. “I’m really looking forward to getting back out there. Fortunately we have a lot of time left.”

HELPING HAND: INF Sean Rodriguez got X-rays and saw a hand specialist in St. Petersburg about his injured left index finger. Rodriguez said though the knuckle is badly sprained and swollen, he should be back in two to three days. “When I talked to the hand doctor, he said it’s all pain tolerance,” Rodriguez said. “I said, ‘In that case, I’m good.’ “

PRICE CHECK: LHP David Price‘s neck felt better, but it was still stiff, one day after having minor spasms while toweling off. Price said he didn’t know when he would throw next, but he still didn’t expect the injury to throw him off schedule.

MISCELLANY: 3B Matt Mangini had a two-run single and OF Brad Coon hit a solo homer for the Rays (2-5-1). … LHP Alex Torres struggled with his command, walking three and hitting a batter in two innings. … The attendance at Charlotte Sports Park was 4,179. … SS Reid Brignac was off after playing two days straight, Maddon said.

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

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon will shave his head next Thursday to raise funds for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children’s Hospital.

Maddon said he will encourage other players, coaches and team officials to do so as well, with Dave Martinez and Tom Foley already committing and executive VP Andrew Friedman and team president Matt Silverman in his sights.

“It’s under the heading, fortune favors the bald,” Maddon said.

Maddon encouraged fans to show their support by making a donation, either by texting Cut to 50555 or visiting pcfcutforacure.orgbetween now and May 4.

The shearing of Maddon’s oft-changing hair will take place at 11:30 a.m. on the stadium boardwalk prior to the game with the Phillies.

Maddon did say the event does not necessarily require going totally bald, that a No. 1 or 2 trim cut would count.

Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon is hosting his sixth annual Thanksmas this week.

Tuesday, Maddon was at a Salvation Army Shelter in St. Petersburg.

As he does for every Thanksmas, Maddon prepared a traditional Italian/Polish holiday feast for needy citizens.

“I’m half Italian, half Polack, my mom being the Polish side,” he said. “I used to watch my mom and my aunts cook a lot when I was a kid… so the sauce is pretty much born of what I observed. The meatballs are pretty much what I observed.”

Maddon himself purchased the food and, with the help of Rays coaches and staff, cooked and served the meals.

“To be honest with you I got a lot of respect for Joe and the things he do,” said Michael Horsley, Salvation Army client. “I think he got a love for people, he love people. He love helping people and the things he do inspire me to help others.”

That gift of giving is the real holiday message Maddon hopes to spread.

“We need to have volunteers on a more consistent basis we need to have more empathy for the plight of our brothers and sisters that are homeless,” Maddon said. “It’s not just this single dude that does not want to work, it’s families, there’s a bunch of kids.”

Earlier Tuesday, Maddon and his crew also served meals in Bradenton. Monday, they visited the Sallie House in St. Petersburg.

Maddon will serve meals at the Tampa Salvation Army, at 1603 N. Florida Avenue, on Wednesday.

Over the past five years, Maddon and the Rays have served approximately 4,000 people for Thanksmas. They also provide many with clothing and shoes.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Nov 28, 2011 03:48 PM

The Tampa Bay Rays are bringing back all their coaches on two-year contracts, and have made Stan Boroski their bullpen coach.

All coaches’ contracts expired after the 2011 season. While manager Joe Maddon said at the end of the season media wrapup that he expected to keep the staff intact, the Rays have yet to announce the deals.

The two-year term is interesting because Maddon has only one year remaining on his deal, and it’s unusual for coaches to have longer contracts than a manager. Both Maddon and the Rays have said they hope to eventually work out an extension.

Boroski was on the staff as assistant to the pitching coach and took over as bullpen coach during last season when Bobby Ramos, on the job since 2006, left the team in August due to illness. Ramos could end up with another position in the organization.

Returning to their posts are bench coach Dave Martinez (fifth season), pitching coach Jim Hickey (sixth season), hitting coach Derek Shelton (third season), first-base coach George Hendrick (seventh season) and third-base coach Tom Foley (11th season).

Boroski, 46, joined the Rays for the 2010 season, working with pitchers alongside Hickey and doing some of the pre-game computer work. He continued to handle those duties while filling in for Ramos last season and is expected to continue to handle both roles.

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For the second time in his six year career as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Maddon was named American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

2011 AL Manager of the Year Joe Maddon (#70) oversees Tampa Bay Rays’ spring training in Port Charlotte, Florida
Jeff Briscoe

The announcement on Wednesday, November 16, came as no surprise to baseball fans who watched the upstart Rays defy the odds in earning the AL Widcard on the final day of the regular season. Maddon, who also won the award in 2008 when he guided Tampa Bay to its only World Series appearance, received 26 of 28 first place votes to become the overwhelming selection.

Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers finished a distant second, with the Texas Rangers’ Ron Washington coming in third place.

In spite of entering 2011 as reigning AL East champs, not much was expected of the Rays. Due to financial limitations imposed by ownership because of attendance struggles, the team drastically cut payroll. The $71 million budget that led to Tampa Bay’s 96 win season in 2010 was mercilessly slashed to $41 million for 2011—second lowest in baseball, ahead of only the Kansas City Royals.

As a result, numerous veterans were not retained during the prior off-season, including former all-stars Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Jason Bartlett, as well as 2008 ALCS MVP Matt Garza.

To compensate, the 58 year-old Maddon shrewdly oversaw the team experiment with any means available, provided it did not involve opening up the checkbook. These measures included the use of multiple lineups, platoons at catcher and left field, calling up vaunted rookies like Desmond Jennings, position changes like the move of Sean Rodriguez from second base to shortstop, and signing free agent overachievers off the scrapheap, such as Casey Kotchman.

In no area was Joe Maddon more challenged than overseeing the rebuilding of the team’s bullpen. Though his vaunted starters were largely immune because of their youth, the Rays had experienced a near total departure of its bullpen, with Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, Chad Qualls, and Dan Wheeler all departing for richer pastures.

In place of these veterans, Tampa Bay gradually pieced together a solid bullpen during the course of the 2011 season. Rookies Brandon Gomes and Jake McGee made positive impacts and both look like keepers. However, more surprisingly was the success of Maddon’s various reclamation projects, including Kyle Farnsworth turning into one of the game’s most reliable closers.

Despite all of these individual achievements, Joe Maddon’s greatest trick was convincing his team that they were still in the pennant race when the calendar reached September. Overcoming an 0-6 start, much of 2011 was actually quite rocky for the Tampa Bay Rays, who endured several losing streaks and saw Manny Ramirez retire abruptly after failing a PED test.

However, Maddon’s squad peaked at the perfect time and historically overcame a 9 game deficit as late as September 3rd. While the Boston Red Sox were collapsing during September, the Rays went 17-10 when games mattered the most. Tampa Bay’s never-say-die attitude certainly originated from its quirky manager, a mad scientist who stays positive in the face of all obstacles and obsessively focuses on team unity.

Playing in the same division as the New York Yankees, there is little doubt that equally daunting tasks await the Rays in 2012. If anything, the team’s finances may have declined. Yet, fans can take comfort in knowing that a two-time manager of the year is in charge.

Hopefully, the Tampa Bay Rays can still afford to pay him.

Source:

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Jeff Briscoe is a dad of three kids and a follower of the Tampa Bay Rays. He hopes the franchise can keep baseball viable in the Sunshine State until his own children can wear the uniform and usher in the golden age of baseball in Florida.

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Kirk Gibson and Joe Maddon won Manager of the Year awards Wednesday — one for overseeing a worst-to-first turnaround that lasted all season, the other after a frantic playoff push in the final month.

Gibson was a clear choice in the National League for guiding the Arizona Diamondbacks to the West title. A former MVP as a rough-and-tumble outfielder, Gibson was honoured in his first full season as a big league manager.

“I certainly had a vision,” Gibson said on a conference call during a vacation in northern Michigan, adding, “It’s certainly not all because of me.”

Maddon won the American League award for the second time. He was an easy pick after helping the Tampa Bay Rays overcame a nine-game deficit to beat out Boston for the wild-card spot on the last day. It was the biggest rally any team had made in September to claim a playoff berth.

“I like to think of it as a validation of the Rays’ way of doing things,” Maddon said on a conference call while visiting family and friends in Hazleton, Pa.

The results were announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The NL Cy Young Award winner will be revealed Thursday, with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers the leading candidate.

Gibson and the Diamondbacks went 94-68, a year after he took over in midseason as Arizona went 65-97. Stressing fundamentals and details from the first day of spring training, the 54-year-old Gibson pushed his team into the playoffs, where it lost to Milwaukee in the 10th inning of the deciding Game 5 in the opening round.

Gibson drew 28 of the 32 first-place votes and got 152 points. He was the only manager in either league to be listed on every ballot.

Ron Roenicke of the NL Central champion Brewers was second with three first-place votes and 92 points. Tony La Russa of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals was third with the other first-place vote and 24 points. Voting was completed before the start of the playoffs.

The free-spirited Maddon added to the AL honour he won in 2008. The 57-year-old manager who likes to speak on a vast array of subjects beyond baseball never panicked, even when the Rays started out 0-6 this season after losing several players to free agency during the winter.

Tampa Bay won its final five games to earn its playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, then lost to Texas in the first round. The Rays reached the playoffs for the third time in four years.

“My goal has been to make the Rays into the next century’s Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals,” he said.

Maddon drew 26 of 28 first-place votes and had 133 points. Jim Leyland of the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers got the other pair of first-place votes and 54 points and Ron Washington of the AL champion Rangers was third with 31.

Gibson was a two-time World Series champion, winning with Detroit and the Dodgers. He was the fourth former MVP to win the manager award, joining Joe Torre, Frank Robinson and Don Baylor.

As a player, Gibson acknowledged he sometimes was “a little emotional … a little stupid.”

“As a manager, you can’t lose your composure,” he said.

Gibson and Bob Melvin (2007) have won the manager award with Arizona.

Maddon is the seventh multiple winner of the AL award. La Russa won three times in the AL and once in the NL.

There I was, in the middle of the hotel bar at the Baseball Winter Meetings, proposing the seemingly unimaginable: a woman throwing batting practice to a Major League team. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon listened intently as I explained to him how it would help show girls and boys that baseball really is a game for all. He asked about my qualifications, then gave me his contact info and said he wanted to help.

And that’s when I joined the “cult” of Joe Maddon.

Joe Maddon lives an authentic life, one where he is true to himself regardless of the external pressures to conform. This authenticity translates into his successful work as a baseball manager. He is able to remain balanced in a sports world that often feeds on the frenzied state of wins and losses, salary wars and unsolicited opinions.

As the manager of the Rays, Joe has built a community. There is a sense of togetherness in the clubhouse, which makes for a unified team that can play well through both the highs and lows of a marathon-like season. To create a culture of fun, he surprises his players with different experiences: homemade hoagies, team letterman sweaters, wearing a Bucs helmet to a postgame press conference.

Beyond the fun, Joe Maddon also wins games. Many thought the Rays would be rebuilding during the 2011 season, but instead they made the playoffs — the third time in four years. The Rays led the league with a .988 team fielding average and were second in the American League in earned run average. With a team payroll of just $40 million, the 2011 Rays won without a roster of bought superstars.

Going into September, down by 8.5 games in the American League wild card chase, the Rays never gave up. Maddon’s balanced approach to managing kept his team loose but focused. The result was a month of peak performance in an atmosphere where every game meant something. The team finished the season with a five-game winning streak and clinched the wild card win in the 12th inning of the final game. The team never gave up; they kept believing. That belief is the result of Joe’s authentic leadership.

Joe’s tweets alone give a sense of his managerial style:

Sept. 7: “We want to be like the guys in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Relentless pursuers who prompted the line: Who are those guys?”

Sept. 11: “We’re kinda fun to watch right now. Our guys believe. They don’t need any speeches from me. I need to get out of the way and let them play.”

Sept. 15: “Now it’s about Friday. We have to think in those terms. It’s the only way we are going to do this. We need to stay in the present tense.”

Oct. 3: “Joel Peralta’s wife made some great Dominican food for the spread today. She’s a great cook.”

Oct. 4: “Had a postgame toast in the clubhouse. Told them I couldn’t be more proud. Back in April I toasted to the best 0-6 team ever. I was right.”

The day I pitched batting practice to the Rays, Joe Maddon and his team were amazing. Johnny Damon came over to introduce himself, and Sam Fuld stopped to tell me how great he thought my batting practice journey was. Joe spent half an hour with me and my daughter Jasmine making sure we felt welcomed. The whole team culture was supportive and inspiring.

The authenticity that Joe puts forth, and that his players model, is what drives the Rays and what made them one of the best and most exciting teams in baseball. The “cult” of Joe Maddon now has one more proud member.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Monday, September 19, 2011

Rookie reliever Jake McGee comes through in the clutch, retiring eight in a row and leaving after a two-out single.
	[Getty Images]

BOSTON — The dozen-plus Rays crammed into the Fenway Park bullpen didn’t know what it meant when they saw starter David Price staggered by a line drive to the chest that would eventually force him to leave Sunday’s game after just four innings.

But they knew this much.

“Well,” reliever Joel Peralta said, “nothing good.”

Their four-run lead had just been halved, and with Price on his way to a nearby hospital (he was okay), the already short-handed bullpen was suddenly faced with the unseemly task of getting 15 outs in what, for the second consecutive day of great drama, was the Rays’ most important game of their season.

Somehow, some way, with rookie Jake McGee the unlikely leader, they came through again, the Rays hanging on for an 8-5 victory over the Red Sox and taking three of four here after sweeping the Sox last weekend at home.

“We answered the call,” centerfielder B.J. Upton said.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” rightfielder Matt Joyce said. “It’s really an unbelievable job that we’ve done. It’s hard to describe.”

The best part, they’re hoping, is yet to come. And they are getting increasingly confident about it.

The possibility of making the playoffs that appeared so unlikely when the Rays were nine games out 16 days earlier, and seemed to make for no more than a cute little story over the past couple of weeks, is now a legitimate possibility as they moved to within two games of the AL wild-card spot.

“I feel pretty good about it, I really do,” manager Joe Maddon said. “To be able to do this, against this team here, now, God, if that can’t bolster your confidence, nothing really can.”

The challenge for the Rays (85-67) is still significant, as seven of their 10 remaining games are against the AL-best Yankees (including four in three days at Yankee Stadium starting Tuesday), while the Red Sox have seven against the last-place Orioles (starting with a day-night doubleheader today).

As hot as the Rays have been — 26-13 since Aug. 7, 11-4 since being nine out Sept. 2 — the Sox have helped by playing poorly, losing nine of their past 11.

“We got a two-game lead with 10 to go. We’re ready to go. That’s basically it, man,” Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves for playing like crap. Nobody’s going to give us anything.”

The Rays led 4-2 when Price left and quickly made it 6-2 with help from the sloppy Sox. That’s where McGee stepped in and stepped up, the 25-year-old lefty getting eight straight outs before allowing a single to his last batter.

“Jake McGee, oh my god,” Maddon said. “He was not afraid of the moment. … He was outstanding. He definitely was our star of the game.”

Said McGee: “It’s pretty exciting.”

The lead was 8-2, thanks to Joyce’s third hit of the day, when McGee left with a man on in the seventh, but Cesar Ramos gave up a three-run homer to Mike Aviles that made it 8-5. Then Brandon Gomes, another rookie, and from nearby Fall River, Mass., got a huge strikeout of Pedroia and a to-the-wall flyout from David Ortiz. After J.P. Howell allowed a double to former Ray Carl Crawford, Maddon summoned Peralta, for the second straight day, to finish it, this time needing four outs.

“The guy’s got all the guts in the world,” Maddon said.

Peralta got the last out of the eighth and the first two of the ninth, then allowed a double to Jacoby Ellsbury. The urgency to get out Aviles was magnified with Adrian Gonzalez and Ortiz looming on deck, and Peralta got it, on a fly to right. “Every out is hard to get,” Peralta said. “I told Joe I’m not pitching (today), so he cannot use me, no way.”

The Rays will enjoy the day off in New York, then regroup Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, either one, two or three games out.

“We’re definitely increasing our chances,” Joyce said, “with each game we play.”

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

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BALTIMORE – The Tampa Bay Rays couldn’t hide their disappointment after losing another game to last-place Baltimore.

The Rays botched an excellent opportunity to gain ground in the wild-card race, getting only three hits over seven innings against Jeremy Guthrie in a 6-2 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night.

After watching Boston lose to Toronto in an afternoon game, the Rays took the field with a chance to close within three games of the Red Sox in the AL wild-card hunt.

Instead, they lost a second straight game to the team with the second-worst record in the American League.

“They shut us down for two games. We can’t permit that to happen,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said.

Especially against the pitcher with the most losses in baseball. Guthrie (8-17) tied a career high with 10 strikeouts and allowed only two runs to win a second consecutive start for the first time this season.

“We have to figure out a way to get it done,” Maddon said. “We can’t miss out on these opportunities.”

Next up for the Rays: Four games against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, beginning Thursday night. Tampa Bay swept a three-game series from Boston last weekend and is 9-5 against the Red Sox, including 4-1 on the road.

“Let’s get out of here and get up there, get our mojo back,” Maddon said.

Wade Davis (10-9) gave up a three-run homer to Chris Davis and a solo shot to Nolan Reimold. Wade Davis, who allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, is 4-1 in six career starts at Camden Yards.

Matt Wieters added a two-run shot in the eighth off Matt Moore, who was making his major league debut. It was Wieters’ 20th home run, the third in three games.

“Obviously, we wanted this win and last night,” Rays center fielder B.J. Upton said. “But we’re going into Boston for four, so we need to flush this one as quickly as we can.”

If the Rays fall short in their bid to reach the playoffs, they can blame either a 1-8 start or their 9-9 record against the Orioles, who are 14-33 against the rest of the AL East.

“These guys have our number right now. They have played us well all year,” Maddon said.

Guthrie improved to 6-10 lifetime against Tampa Bay, 2-3 this season. He also beat the Rays on opening day.

“He just kept the ball down and didn’t leave it over the middle of plate,” Upton said. “He has always had good stuff and he showed that today.”

Jim Johnson worked the final two innings for his sixth save, the second in two nights.

Guthrie retired the first eight batters before Reid Brignac singled in the third. Reimold opened the bottom half with his 10th home run, a low-flying line drive that glanced off the top of the left-field wall and into the seats.

The lead didn’t last long. Guthrie walked two of the first three batters in the fourth and Matt Joyce cleared the bases with a two-out double.

In the Baltimore half, Vladimir Guerrero beat out a slow roller to third, Wieters doubled and Chris Davis hit an opposite-field homer to left on an 0-2 pitch for a 4-2 lead.

That was enough to saddle the Rays with another distressing defeat.

“Every time you lose a game it is a lost opportunity,” Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon said. “Just because it is Baltimore, we didn’t let up at all. The home run ball helped them out tonight, as well as last night.”

Tampa Bay’s final threat came in the seventh. Damon drew a leadoff walk and took second on a single by Joyce before Guthrie sandwiched two strikeouts around a fly ball by John Jaso.

Guthrie was more delighted about playing a part in beating the Rays than he was in earning a rare win.

“We matched up well at the plate, we pitched well and got some big hits,” the right-hander said. “It’s a nice series.”

NOTES: Rays OF Sam Fuld left in the fifth inning with a wrist injury. … Tampa Bay recalled LHP Alex Torres from Triple-A Durham and purchased the contract of 1B Dan Johnson from Durham, giving the team 34 players in uniform. … The Rays’ rotation for the Boston series: Jeremy Hellickson (12-10), James Shields (15-10), Jeff Niemann (10-7) and David Price (12-12). Tampa Bay has held the Red Sox to a .177 batting average, including .158 in Boston. … Orioles CF Adam Jones (thumb) hopes to return Friday after missing a fifth straight start. He entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth. … After a day off Thursday, the Orioles resume play Friday against another playoff hopeful, the Los Angeles Angels. Tommy Hunter (3-4) starts for Baltimore against Dan Haren (15-8).

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, September 2, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Rays had reason to be frustrated Thursday night after another abysmal offensive performance led to a 7-2 loss to Texas that knocked them back to the fringe of playoff contention.

But they should have been happy the loss wasn’t more embarrassing. They were held without even a baserunner for the first five innings. First baseman Casey Kotchman, the only lefty in the lineup, broke through against Rangers starter C.J. Wilson with an infield single to start the sixth inning.

“He had no-hit stuff,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said of Wilson. “We were getting bad swings, and the ball was jumping.”

As impotent and inconsistent as the Rays have been at the plate this season, they at least have not had the indignity of being no-hit, as they were once in 2009 and twice in 2010. Thursday, though, was the fifth time they’d been held hitless through five innings, and they’ve had two games with only one hit.

Thursday they finished with four hits: Kelly Shoppach hit a solo homer after Kotchman was erased on a double play, Matt Joyce delivered a two-out single in the seventh and Ben Zobrist singled in the ninth. For the three games at the usually offensive Ballpark in Arlington, the Rays had six runs and 13 hits.

“We just haven’t been able to rustle up enough offense on a consistent basis,” Maddon said, “using the ‘rustle up’ term being that I’m in Texas.”

“That’s been the story of the season: the offense,” third baseman Evan Longoria said. “It’s very frustrating, especially when we know it’s there, and we’ve seen it at times, and it’s been so inconsistent. Disappointing overall.”

Maddon pitched it as a positive that they went 4-3 on the road trip to Toronto and Texas. And he insisted the Rays still have a chance to get back to the playoffs, though he acknowledged for the first time it’s a second-tier goal, but it seems more mathematical and semantical than actual.

Thursday’s loss, their third in their past four games, dropped them to 74-62 and back to 8½ games from the wild-card-leading Yankees with 26 to play. If the Yankees, who beat Boston 4-2 on Thursday night, finish 14-13, the Rays have to go 22-4 to tie. If New York goes just 10-17, the Rays still have to be 18-8.

“It’s no fun,” Maddon said. “But until the math tells me otherwise … even if we cannot arrive at that point, my second goal would be then to have the third-best record in the American League, and that’s definitely within out reach.”

The Rays didn’t pitch well, either, Thursday. Jeff Niemann struggled to get through five innings, allowing five runs, including a pair of homers, and the bullpen did not provide much relief.

But the Rays did play dazzling defense, with centerfielder B.J. Upton making a pair of running catches and rightfielder Matt Joyce leaping at the rightfield wall to rob Adrian Beltre of a home run.

“That’s one of the best feelings,” Joyce said. “If you can’t hit a home run, might as well rob one.”

Wilson had the Rays off-balance from the start, and they went 15 up and 15 down, seven of the outs by strikeouts.

“Being perfect-gamed, it’s obviously going to be a frustrating and tough first five innings for us,” Joyce said.

Kotchman bounced a ball up the middle that Wilson touched, leaving him with a numb finger that pretty much ended his night and a runner on base. “I will second-guess that Casey Kotchman at-bat for the rest of my career,” Wilson said.

Had he made the play, the Rays might have been the ones who’d never forget.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, September 2, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Rays had reason to be frustrated Thursday night after another abysmal offensive performance led to a 7-2 loss to Texas that knocked them back to the fringe of playoff contention.

But they should have been happy the loss wasn’t more embarrassing. They were held without even a baserunner for the first five innings. First baseman Casey Kotchman, the only lefty in the lineup, broke through against Rangers starter C.J. Wilson with an infield single to start the sixth inning.

“He had no-hit stuff,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said of Wilson. “We were getting bad swings, and the ball was jumping.”

As impotent and inconsistent as the Rays have been at the plate this season, they at least have not had the indignity of being no-hit, as they were once in 2009 and twice in 2010. Thursday, though, was the fifth time they’d been held hitless through five innings, and they’ve had two games with only one hit.

Thursday they finished with four hits: Kelly Shoppach hit a solo homer after Kotchman was erased on a double play, Matt Joyce delivered a two-out single in the seventh and Ben Zobrist singled in the ninth. For the three games at the usually offensive Ballpark in Arlington, the Rays had six runs and 13 hits.

“We just haven’t been able to rustle up enough offense on a consistent basis,” Maddon said, “using the ‘rustle up’ term being that I’m in Texas.”

“That’s been the story of the season: the offense,” third baseman Evan Longoria said. “It’s very frustrating, especially when we know it’s there, and we’ve seen it at times, and it’s been so inconsistent. Disappointing overall.”

Maddon pitched it as a positive that they went 4-3 on the road trip to Toronto and Texas. And he insisted the Rays still have a chance to get back to the playoffs, though he acknowledged for the first time it’s a second-tier goal, but it seems more mathematical and semantical than actual.

Thursday’s loss, their third in their past four games, dropped them to 74-62 and back to 8½ games from the wild-card-leading Yankees with 26 to play. If the Yankees, who beat Boston 4-2 on Thursday night, finish 14-13, the Rays have to go 22-4 to tie. If New York goes just 10-17, the Rays still have to be 18-8.

“It’s no fun,” Maddon said. “But until the math tells me otherwise … even if we cannot arrive at that point, my second goal would be then to have the third-best record in the American League, and that’s definitely within out reach.”

The Rays didn’t pitch well, either, Thursday. Jeff Niemann struggled to get through five innings, allowing five runs, including a pair of homers, and the bullpen did not provide much relief.

But the Rays did play dazzling defense, with centerfielder B.J. Upton making a pair of running catches and rightfielder Matt Joyce leaping at the rightfield wall to rob Adrian Beltre of a home run.

“That’s one of the best feelings,” Joyce said. “If you can’t hit a home run, might as well rob one.”

Wilson had the Rays off-balance from the start, and they went 15 up and 15 down, seven of the outs by strikeouts.

“Being perfect-gamed, it’s obviously going to be a frustrating and tough first five innings for us,” Joyce said.

Kotchman bounced a ball up the middle that Wilson touched, leaving him with a numb finger that pretty much ended his night and a runner on base. “I will second-guess that Casey Kotchman at-bat for the rest of my career,” Wilson said.

Had he made the play, the Rays might have been the ones who’d never forget.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Tuesday, August 30, 2011

TORONTO — Seven pitches into Monday’s game, when Johnny Damon hit the first of his two homers, the Rays seemed like they could well have been headed to the repeat of Sunday’s powerful performance manager Joe Maddon wanted so much that he made the unusual move — for him, anyway — of starting the same lineup.

But with a struggling Wade Davis on the mound instead of David Price, the result was nothing like the same, an ugly 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays that was not much of an encore to Sunday’s 12-0 victory. “We just didn’t pitch well,” Maddon said.

The outcome wasn’t pretty, either, as with the Yankees winning in Baltimore, the Rays (73-60) — after winning three straight over the Jays — dropped back to 7½ games from the wild-card pace with 29 games left.

“It’s rough,” Davis said. “It’s tough on the team; it’s tough on me. We’re in a tough spot; we’re trying to battle uphill. We’ve just got to keep going.”

“Every game is big,” Damon said. “We just need to keep winning, keep winning series, and hopefully we’ll still be in good position come late September.”

Davis — winless for the month — was off from the start and lasted only 41/3 innings, the shortest start by a Ray since Jeremy Hellickson went 41/3 on Aug. 13 at New York. He allowed six runs on nine hits and three walks, throwing 108 pitches.

Staked to a 2-0 lead, he walked leadoff man Yunel Escobar then, after a fielder’s choice grounder, threw two wild pitches to No. 3 hitter Jose Bautista and ended up walking him, though a double play saved him from worse.

“Wade just had a hard time command-wise,” Maddon said. “The whole game he just could not find a rhythm with anything. Physically good stuff — high velocity number, decent break on the breaking ball — but overall just didn’t have command of what he was doing. And that pretty much hurt.”

What made it more frustrating, Davis said, was how strong he felt warming up: “I felt really good; I don’t know if that works against you. It’s just one of those things where you’re either going to dominate or you’re going to have a tough time.”

That 2-0 Rays lead was a 5-2 deficit by the time Damon hit his second homer in the fifth — his first multihomer game since Sept. 9, 2008, giving the Rays a team-record 10 for a series.

But — with the same lineup in consecutive games for just the eighth time all season — they couldn’t do much else offensively, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. There were their usual wasted opportunities, but the lack of production wasn’t all their own doing as three times — in the fifth, sixth and seventh — they hit, sharply, into double plays, Ben Zobrist twice and Sean Rodriguez once.

“They were all well-struck,” Maddon said. “That is just bad baseball luck right there.”

The defense wasn’t on, either, though again, the breaks didn’t go their way, such as the J.P. Arencibia fly to right that bounced over Matt Joyce’s head for a triple, an example, Maddon said, of flawed Astroturf.

“That’s the old-school, ’70s-Afro-blowing-in-the-wind bounce over the outfielder’s hair — and over his head, too,” Maddon said.

Just something else awry.

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

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