ST. PETERSBURG — Sacrifice flies are far from flashy, and they won’t make many SportsCenter highlight reels.

But they score runs, and they were the story in the Rays’ 6-2 win over the Twins on Sunday in front of 26,507 at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay set a club record with four sacrifice flies, one shy of the single-game major-league record, in picking up its fourth win in its past five games.

“From the spectators’ perspective, it’s one of the most boring plays in all of baseball,” manager Joe Maddon said. “But from a dugout perspective, it’s very exciting. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to see that.”

Maddon might have been exaggerating a bit; the Rays dugout wasn’t exactly exploding with enthusiasm. But centerfielder B.J. Upton pointed out that since spring training, the No. 1 thing on hitters’ lists was doing better at scoring a runner from third with less than two outs. It’s something the Rays have struggled with, so a “productive out,” as Ben Zobrist calls a sacrifice fly, was much appreciated, considering Tampa Bay had a 2-0 lead in the fourth before getting their first hit off left-hander Francisco Liriano.

“I got to thinking about has there ever been a no-hitter and a loss?” third baseman Evan Longoria said. “Either way, we’re going to have to do those kind of plays to win games. We’re not a team that really is going to be able to rely on a three-run home run to win a whole lot of games.”

That was more than enough support for right-hander Jeff Niemann, who picked up his first win of the season, allowing just two runs and three hits over 5? innings. It came one day after Niemann said he got “chills” watching former Rice University teammate Phil Humber throw a perfect game Saturday for the White Sox.

“For a minute there, I didn’t think it was going to be real,” Niemann said. “It was fun seeing him go out there and do that. He put some pressure on me to do something myself.”

Niemann did his best Humber impression early on, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth until Clete Thomas broke it up with a single with two outs.

“It was weird, just with what Humber did the day before, and us being in college for three years together, pitching behind each other, it just kind of was almost, ‘Here it goes again,’ ” Niemann said. “It was fun.”

Some strong bullpen work by Jake McGee, who struck out Justin Morneau with the bases loaded in the fifth, and Fernando Rodney, who has finished all but one of the Rays’ wins, made the lead stick.

The Rays (9-7) started with two sacrifice flies in the third inning, when they loaded the bases with no outs before getting RBI flyouts by Desmond Jennings and Zobrist. In the fourth, Longoria doubled off the B-ring catwalk, advanced to third on a Jeff Keppinger flyout and scored on an Upton sacrifice fly to left, his first of two in the game. The Mariners were the last team to have as many sacrifice flies, recording five April 15, 2008, against the Royals.

“A sacrifice fly goes down as an RBI and no plate appearance,” said Jennings, who also hit a two-run homer. “So it’s a plus on both sides.”

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

DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera doubled and scored on Prince Fielder’s single, part of a snowy eighth-inning rally that gave the Detroit Tigers a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

After Fielder’s tiebreaking single, a light snow shower passed briefly over Comerica Park. Jhonny Peralta added a sacrifice fly later in the inning, and Gerald Laird’s RBI single gave the Tigers a three-run lead. Phil Coke (1-0) pitched the eighth, and Jose Valverde finished for his first save of the season.

Valverde blew a save for the first time since 2010 in Thursday’s opener against Boston.

Austin Jackson homered for Detroit, which is the AL’s last unbeaten team after handing the Rays their first defeat.

Rick Porcello allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings for the Tigers in a game that began amid snow flurries with the temperature in the 40s. Porcello struck out four and walked one.

Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore allowed two runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He walked five – one intentionally – and struck out four in his second career regular-season start. The 22-year-old also started a playoff game last year, not long after making his debut.

The Rays intentionally walked Cabrera in the fifth to load the bases for Fielder, and the move worked when he lifted a routine fly to left that ended the inning. With first base open in the eighth, Tampa Bay chose to pitch to Fielder. He singled up the middle off Jake McGee (0-1), and Cabrera lumbered around to score for a 3-2 lead.

Tampa Bay had gone ahead 2-1 in the seventh on an RBI infield single by Desmond Jennings, but Jackson homered in the bottom half off Moore.

Detroit has won its first four games – three in its final at-bat. The Rays lost for the first time after a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. It was their first regular-season loss in nine games. They won their last five of 2011 to snatch a surprising playoff berth.

Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the third when Evan Longoria drew a bases-loaded walk. Detroit tied it in the bottom half when Moore’s wild pitch enabled Jackson to score.

NOTES: Tampa Bay OF Luke Scott missed the game and is day to day with a tight left hamstring. … Tigers manager Jim Leyland said INF Brandon Inge (strained left groin) was heading to Triple-A Toledo for a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday night. … Leyland also said LHP Adam Wilk will pitch Saturday against the White Sox in Chicago. Detroit had a vacancy in its rotation after Doug Fister went on the DL with a left side strain. … There also was a light snow shower in the fifth inning. … Tampa Bay used a starting pitcher age 30 or younger for a 900th consecutive game, a streak dating to 2006.

Earlier on HuffPost:

“;
var coords = [-5, -72];
// display fb-bubble
FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, ‘top’, {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: ‘clear-overlay’});
});

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)—Francisco Liriano is confident his 2012 season will
be more consistent than his last.

He gave signs Thursday he may be right.

The left-hander struck out five of the nine batters he faced in in three
scoreless innings but the Minnesota Twins lost 1-0 loss to a Tampa Bay Rays
split squad.

“Nothing’s bothering me right now, so it’s going to be quite different from
last year,” Liriano said.

Desmond Jennings was the only Rays player to get a hit off Liriano and the
leadoff hitter had two of Tampa Bay’s four hits.

“I feel good. I feel good,” Jennings said. “Just glad I’m playing.
Hopefully, I’ll get better as camp goes on.”

Liriano was feeling good, too. Last season was an up-and-down year because
of inconsistency and injury that was right in step with an up-and-down career.

The six-year veteran, who has mixed good starts with frustrating defeats
ever since breaking through with a 12-3 record and 2.16 ERA in 2006, went 9-10
with a 5.09 ERA last season despite throwing a no-hitter on May 3 against the
White Sox.

Liriano attributed much of the struggle to nagging injuries, including the
shoulder strain that ended his season in August.

“I battled it through the whole year,” Liriano said. “Like two days
before spring training I got hurt, so I worked out in Miami. I tried to battle
through it the whole year; it was getting better, but it was just a battle the
whole year.”

This spring, he has focused much of his attention on locating his fastball
to add a potent second option to his deadly slider. That work was evident
Thursday.

“I’d say that’s a pretty good day—he only threw four sliders in 34
pitches,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. “He controlled the game out
there.”

The Rays also got quality innings from their starter, 23-year-old prospect
Chris Archer. In his first spring start, Archer gave up one hit and two walks
through two scoreless innings.

With two runners on base and none out in the first, Archer was able to force
flyballs from Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau and a groundout from Josh Willingham
to get out of the inning.

“It was nice, because I’ve never faced guys of that caliber on a consistent
basis,” Archer said. “Facing those guys back-to-back with runners on base, it
was definitely nice to be in there and get those guys out.”

The game’s lone run came in the top of the ninth, when Rays infielder Hak-Ju
Lee scored on Luke Hughes’ throwing error to first base.

The only bright spot on offense for the Twins was leadoff hitter Denard
Span, who continued to have a good spring after struggling with post-concussion
symptoms through much of last year. The outfielder went 1 for 2 and stole two
bases.

“Neither team had a lot of offense to talk about,” Gardenhire said.
“Let’s call that good pitching.”

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Wednesday, December 7, 2011

---

DALLAS — The Rays are working on multiple scenarios via trades and free-agent signings to bolster their offense and fill holes at first base and DH.

But in the unlikely event none were to come to fruition this offseason — with nothing close as of Tuesday night, anyway — they have at least an interesting backup plan, with the signing of Juan Miranda to a minor-league contract with a spring training invite.

“Extreme power,” Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman said.

Miranda, a 28-year-old from Cuba, has spent most of his five pro seasons at Triple A but has big-league time with the Yankees (2008-10) and Diamondbacks (2011). He hit 67 homers in 457 minor-league games (with a .277 average) and 11 in 111 big-league games (with a .226 average), though seven in 65 for Arizona in 2011.

“He’s got some real carrying strengths that we feel like give him a chance to be a productive major-league player; obviously the standard at that position is higher than other positions,” Friedman said. “(He) will either compete for a job depending on how the rest of the winter shakes out or be very high on the depth charge in the event of injury.”

The Rays also signed INF Matt Mangini, who had some big-league time with Seattle in 2010; and RHPs Jhonny Nunez (White Sox, ’09) and Ricky Orta (returning from injury).

Friedman had a busy second day at the winter meetings and said they were “talking to a number of offensive players.” But with nothing imminent, it would appear Monday’s pursuit of free-agent OF/DH Josh Willingham had at least stalled and that the Rays were not sitting on any trade offers they were ready to accept without further talks.

The Reds and Royals appear to be good trade matches, as well as the Marlins, who if they sign Albert Pujols would seem likely to move All-Star 1B Gaby Sanchez, with RHP Wade Davis a potential target.

There was another round of chatter about the Nationals’ longstanding — and unsuccessful — quest for Rays CF B.J. Upton, but no progress. While Friedman wouldn’t comment, Washington GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, “I don’t think anything has changed.”

Also, the Rays will be among the teams scouting free-agent reliever Joel Zumaya at his workout next week; are not the mystery team that bid on Japanese free agent INF Hiroyuki Nakajima; were not among the teams that job-seeking free agent Manny Ramirez supposedly personally called; won’t likely re-sign free-agent RHP Juan Cruz; and don’t plan many changes to their minor-league coaching staffs.

RED ALERT: Pujols had reported offers for $200-plus million over 10 years from at least the Marlins and Cardinals and was said to be nearing a decision. … DH David Ortiz is reportedly set to rejoin the Red Sox by agreeing to accept arbitration (and a raise from $12.5 million) by tonight’s deadline. … The Jays added a closer by acquiring RHP Sergio Santos (30 saves, 3.55 ERA) from the White Sox for RHP prospect Nestor Molina. … The Twins traded RHP Kevin Slowey to Colorado for a player to be named. … RHPs Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco agreed to terms with the Mets, who also traded OF Angel Pagan to the Giants for OF Andres Torres and RHP Ramon Ramirez.

MISCELLANY: The BBWAA voted to televise the announcement of its major awards for the first time, starting in 2012 on the MLB Network. … Toronto Sun writer Bob Elliott was elected to the Hall of Fame.

[Last modified: Dec 06, 2011 11:59 PM]

Click here for reuse options!

Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times

You must enable javascript to view and add comments.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Oct 21, 2011 07:18 PM

---

Tampa Bay Rays righthander Jeremy Hellickson has been named MLB’s Rookie of the Year by Baseball America.

Hellickson went 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA this season, with a 2.10 opponent average and 20 quality starts, that were the best of all major league rookies.

Hellickson is also a main candidate to win the AL’s Rookie of the Year award voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (announced Nov. 14). The last time an AL rookie had a lower ERA than Hellickson’s 2.95 was 1990, when Kevin Appier posted a 2.76 for the Royals. A rookie had not finished with Hellickson’s combination of wins, innings and ERA since 1980, when Britt Burns did so for the White Sox.

Here’s Baseball America story on Hellickson.

Meanwhile, Rays OF Desmond Jennings joined Hellickson on Baseball America’s Rookie Team.

[Last modified: Oct 21, 2011 07:18 PM]

Click here for reuse options!

Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times

You must enable javascript to view and add comments.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Sunday, October 16, 2011

---

Consider this another sign of the Rays’ rise to prominence: Even TMZ cares.

DH Johnny Damon was leaving the posh Hollywood hangout BOA the other night when one of TMZ’s celeb-chasing camera crews stopped him to ask if he’ll be back with the Rays in 2012.

Damon, who told them he hoped so, may not know for a while. Because as hard at work as Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman and crew already are, they aren’t likely to be positioned to make quick decisions on bringing back free agents Damon and/or native son 1B Casey Kotchman, nor on whom to bring in or ship out.

Knowing their resources will again be limited — the only question is how limited — Friedman faces an extreme juggling act, trying to improve an offense that scored a middle-of-the-pack 707 runs by about 10 percent without weakening a pitching staff that allowed an AL-fewest 611 and defense that made a major-league-low 73 errors.

He’s talking a lot about finding “the optimal mix” of 13 position players that can best produce and prevent runs. And with only 26 home runs and 121 RBIs combined from Damon and Kotchman at traditional power spots, and the potential of trading CF B.J. Upton, who had 23 and 81, there is a lot to think about. (Perhaps the return of Carlos Peña?)

Trades, typically made in December and January, likely will be a major part of the process as teams — and not just the obvious ones (for example, the Rockies and Royals) — are already eyeing their eight-deep stash of starting pitchers.

Of nearer-term issues:

• Contracts with the coaches expire Oct. 31; all — except perhaps bullpen coach Bobby Ramos — are expected back (unless bench coach Dave Martinez gets the Cubs or Red Sox manager’s job), but there still have to be negotiations. An extension for manager Joe Maddon, heading into the last year of his deal, may wait until spring.

• Option decisions are due post-World Series on RHP James Shields (a no-brainer at $7.5 million, after an innings escalator, with a chance to hit $8 million for a top-5 Cy Young finish); RHP Kyle Farnsworth (a likely yes at $3.3 million assuming his elbow checks out); and C Kelly Shoppach (a no at $3.2 million, but a possible re-sign for less).

RAYS RUMBLINGS: Senior VP Gerry Hunsicker continues to be reported as a candidate for GM jobs with the Angels and Orioles but is unlikely to pursue either — or any other — given how content he is with the Rays. … New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden writes that the Rays are “destined for a tragic ending” and insists “contraction is coming,” even though MLB also would have to eliminate a second team. … With the Red and White Sox changes, Friedman and Maddon are now MLB’s second-longest tenured duo behind Detroit’s Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland. … 3B Evan Longoria canceled a planned trip to Thailand due to the massive flooding there. … The AL rookie of the year award (Jeremy Hellickson?) is announced Nov. 14 and manager of the year (Maddon?) Nov. 16. … If Dave Eiland doesn’t get the Royals (or another) pitching coach job, the Rays would have him back as a special assistant. … Among Instructional League standouts were 2011 No. 1 pick RHP Taylor Guerreri, who hit 97 mph at times, and LHP Enny Romero, a 20-year-old who struck out 140 in 114 IP while going 5-5, 4.26 at Class A Bowling Green.

[Last modified: Oct 15, 2011 07:05 PM]

Click here for reuse options!

Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times

You must enable javascript to view and add comments.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011

---

ST. PETERSBURG — Rays manager Joe Maddon insists he has to be reminded that RHP Jeremy Hellickson is still a rookie.

The 24-year-old looks like a teenage bat boy, but he acts — and more important, pitches — like an accomplished veteran. And with their season on the brink, the Rays hope he can deliver in Game 4 today.

“I feel ready,” Hellickson said. “Would have liked to win (Monday), but we’ve won two in a row before. Definitely looking forward to it. And hopefully there will be a Game 5.”

When Hellickson takes the mound, the Rays will be the 10th team in the modern era to start two rookies in a postseason series. If he is the winning pitcher, they would make more history because of Matt Moore‘s Game 1 victory, joining the 1927 Yankees (Wilcy Moore and George Pipgras) as the only team to get two wins from rookie starters in a series.

KYLE OKAY: RHP Kyle Farns­worth threw off the mound before the game and said his right elbow “definitely” felt good enough for him to pitch, and he warmed up late in Monday’s game. He was not available Saturday due to recurring soreness. “Everything’s fine,” Farnsworth said. “It feels good.” Farnsworth, who missed two weeks, then pitched in four of the last five games of the regular season, acknowledged he would likely have to be re-evaluated each day.

NIEMANN, TOO: RHP Jeff Niemann came through his Sunday bullpen session with no problems from his stiff back and said he would be ready if the Rays advance. “I feel great. Ready to do whatever’s needed.”

TIMING ISSUE: The Rays weren’t pleased nor surprised to be given a 2:07 start time today by Major League Baseball and TBS, even though it is a potential clinching game. “It’s not optimal from our perspective, but it doesn’t surprise me, either,” Maddon said.

BROAD SHOULDERS: Bench coach Dave Martinez, according to some reports, is the leading candidate for the White Sox’s managerial job, which has made him a popular subject for Chicago media covering the series. (Also popular is executive VP Andrew Friedman, rumored to be a target of the GM-less Cubs.) Martinez said he was flattered by the attention and excited by the possibility of managing but hasn’t talked to the Sox.

HAMMER TIME: 3B Evan Longoria is the Rays’ nominee for the Hank Aaron Award, given to the “most outstanding offensive performer” in each league. The winners will be chosen from a combination of voting by fans (at mlb.com and team websites) and a panel of Hall of Famers, including Aaron.

MISCELLANY: The Rays have lost four straight home postseason games. … Longoria, who struck out three times, left without talking to the media. … Gates open today at 11:30 a.m. … The crowd of 32,828 was the Rays’ 12th consecutive postseason sellout. … The Rays have 19 homers in their past eight games. … INF Russ Canzler, OF Brandon Guyer and LHP Alex Torres rejoined the team after working out in Port Charlotte and playing for the instructional league team Friday-Saturday. RHP Dane De La Rosa was told he could go home to California.

[Last modified: Oct 03, 2011 11:54 PM]

Click here for reuse options!

Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times

You must enable javascript to view and add comments.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 25, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are focusing on their playoff push rather than the shocking slide of the Boston Red Sox.

B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist homered in the first inning to back Wade Davis, and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Sunday to pull within one game of the Red Sox for the AL wild-card lead.

“It’s more about the ascension of the Rays right now,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Obviously, they’re struggling a bit, and that happens. But from our perspective, it’s more important what we do. It’s fortuitous that they’ve had a hard time, but I love the fact that we’re taking care of business.”

Evan Longoria and Kelly Shoppach also homered for the Rays, who have closed despite going just 14-10 in September.

Nine games back of the Red Sox heading into play on Sept. 4, Tampa Bay would have moved into a tie for the wild-card lead if the Yankees completed a sweep of Boston in their day-night doubleheader. The Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the nightcap for a 7-4 victory in 14 innings.

“The more pressure you put on yourself, the tougher it is to play baseball, which is probably what the Red Sox are doing right now,” Davis said. “There’s probably a lot of pressure on them. They’re playing tense and they’re not playing their game. As long as we can stay relaxed and understand our position, we can just keep it going.”

No major league team has overcome a nine-game deficit in September to claim a postseason berth. The closest was the 1964 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by 8½ games on Sept. 3.

Tampa Bay closes at home against the Yankees, while the Red Sox play at Baltimore.

“I know we have a tough team coming in, and we really have to play well,” Tampa Bay’s Johnny Damon said. “It’ll be a tough go, but I think we’re feeling good about ourselves and fortunately for us, there’s no off-day.

Davis (11-10) allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings, and Joel Peralta finished for his sixth save in eight chances. The Rays have won 27 games in a row when scoring five runs or more.

Toronto’s Jose Bautista, the major league leader with 43 homers, bruised a spot just below his left knee on Zobrist’s first-inning homer, hitting the right-field fence hard while attempting to make a catch. Mark Teahen hit for Bautista in the sixth inning.

“It’s sore right now,” Bautista said. “It started getting more sore and stiff to run. It was hurting when I was running.”

Blue Jays manager John Farrell doesn’t expect Bautista to play in Monday night’s game at the Chicago White Sox. The slugger hasn’t ruled himself out from playing again before the regular season ends Wednesday.

“We feel like we dodged a bullet,” Farrell said. “It could have been something much more severe. There’s a little bit of a gap in that padding out there, and there’s a little bit of exposed metal and that was the impact.”

Upton homered with one out, and Zobrist hit an inside-the-park homer to right with two outs, also off Brett Cecil (4-11).

David Cooper had an RBI double in the second, but Longoria’s two-run homer made it 4-1 in the third. He has driven in 82 runs over his last 95 games.

After Toronto’s Dewayne Wise had a solo homer in the fifth, Shoppach hit a sixth-inning shot.

Cecil gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He is 0-7 with a 5.16 ERA in his last 10 starts.

Notes

• RHP James Shields (15-12), who leads the majors with 11 complete games this season, will start Monday night’s game against the Yankees. He will be followed in the series by Jeremy Hellickson (13-10) and David Price (12-13).
• Blue Jays CF Colby Rasmus was late scratch due to flu-like symptoms. 1B Adam Lind, who left the team Friday for the birth of his child, missed his third straight game.
• Toronto manager John Farrell will miss Monday night’s game with the White Sox to be with his 20-year old son Luke, who is having scheduled surgery.
• obrist has four homers in his last eight games after going 39 games without one.
• Farrell said it’s becoming more unlikely that SS Yunel Escobar (left elbow) will play again this season.
• Toronto RHP Dustin McGowan (0-1) and White Sox RHP Dylan Axelrod (0-0) will pitch Monday’s series opener.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 25, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are focusing on their playoff push rather than the shocking slide of the Boston Red Sox.

B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist homered in the first inning to back Wade Davis, and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Sunday to pull within one game of the Red Sox for the AL wild-card lead.

“It’s more about the ascension of the Rays right now,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Obviously, they’re struggling a bit, and that happens. But from our perspective, it’s more important what we do. It’s fortuitous that they’ve had a hard time, but I love the fact that we’re taking care of business.”

Evan Longoria and Kelly Shoppach also homered for the Rays, who have closed despite going just 14-10 in September.

Nine games back of the Red Sox heading into play on Sept. 4, Tampa Bay would have moved into a tie for the wild-card lead if the Yankees completed a sweep of Boston in their day-night doubleheader. The Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the nightcap for a 7-4 victory in 14 innings.

“The more pressure you put on yourself, the tougher it is to play baseball, which is probably what the Red Sox are doing right now,” Davis said. “There’s probably a lot of pressure on them. They’re playing tense and they’re not playing their game. As long as we can stay relaxed and understand our position, we can just keep it going.”

No major league team has overcome a nine-game deficit in September to claim a postseason berth. The closest was the 1964 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by 8½ games on Sept. 3.

Tampa Bay closes at home against the Yankees, while the Red Sox play at Baltimore.

“I know we have a tough team coming in, and we really have to play well,” Tampa Bay’s Johnny Damon said. “It’ll be a tough go, but I think we’re feeling good about ourselves and fortunately for us, there’s no off-day.

Davis (11-10) allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings, and Joel Peralta finished for his sixth save in eight chances. The Rays have won 27 games in a row when scoring five runs or more.

Toronto’s Jose Bautista, the major league leader with 43 homers, bruised a spot just below his left knee on Zobrist’s first-inning homer, hitting the right-field fence hard while attempting to make a catch. Mark Teahen hit for Bautista in the sixth inning.

“It’s sore right now,” Bautista said. “It started getting more sore and stiff to run. It was hurting when I was running.”

Blue Jays manager John Farrell doesn’t expect Bautista to play in Monday night’s game at the Chicago White Sox. The slugger hasn’t ruled himself out from playing again before the regular season ends Wednesday.

“We feel like we dodged a bullet,” Farrell said. “It could have been something much more severe. There’s a little bit of a gap in that padding out there, and there’s a little bit of exposed metal and that was the impact.”

Upton homered with one out, and Zobrist hit an inside-the-park homer to right with two outs, also off Brett Cecil (4-11).

David Cooper had an RBI double in the second, but Longoria’s two-run homer made it 4-1 in the third. He has driven in 82 runs over his last 95 games.

After Toronto’s Dewayne Wise had a solo homer in the fifth, Shoppach hit a sixth-inning shot.

Cecil gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He is 0-7 with a 5.16 ERA in his last 10 starts.

Notes

• RHP James Shields (15-12), who leads the majors with 11 complete games this season, will start Monday night’s game against the Yankees. He will be followed in the series by Jeremy Hellickson (13-10) and David Price (12-13).
• Blue Jays CF Colby Rasmus was late scratch due to flu-like symptoms. 1B Adam Lind, who left the team Friday for the birth of his child, missed his third straight game.
• Toronto manager John Farrell will miss Monday night’s game with the White Sox to be with his 20-year old son Luke, who is having scheduled surgery.
• obrist has four homers in his last eight games after going 39 games without one.
• Farrell said it’s becoming more unlikely that SS Yunel Escobar (left elbow) will play again this season.
• Toronto RHP Dustin McGowan (0-1) and White Sox RHP Dylan Axelrod (0-0) will pitch Monday’s series opener.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Rays have momentum heading into a
week of important division games.

Jeff Niemann(notes) won his sixth consecutive decision, Ben Zobrist(notes) had a two-run
triple and the Rays completed a four-game sweep with a 4-1 victory over the
Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Tampa Bay starts a key six-game road trip against New York and Boston on
Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The Rays started the day 8 1/2 games behind the AL
wild-card leading Yankees and trail AL East-leading Boston by 9 1/2 games.

“Playing in our division is always a gas, and going up there to do it makes
it even more fun,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Another good test for us.
We’re trying to climb back in this thing one step at a time. It’s up to us.”

Rays left-hander David Price(notes) (9-10) will face Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia(notes)
(16-6) in a matchup of All-Stars in the opener of a three-game series.

“Everybody here still has that playoff mindset,” Price said.

Niemann (7-4) allowed one run and nine hits over 6 1-3 innings. The
right-hander is 6-0 in nine starts since returning from a strained lower back.

“Things weren’t coming as easily as they have been the past few games,”
Niemann said. “You’re going to have starts when you’re not as sharp.”

The Rays’ first four-game home sweep since July 28-31, 2005—also against
Kansas City—included an 8-7 win Wednesday night in which Tampa Bay scored five
times in the ninth.

After Joel Peralta(notes) threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay, Kyle
Farnsworth(notes) pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Rookie left-hander Danny Duffy(notes) (3-6) gave up three runs and five hits over
seven innings.

The Royals had 11 hits, but ended up 1 for 9 with runners in scoring
position,

“It gets real frustrating when, quite frankly, in four games and we were
one hit or one pitch away from going 4-0,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said.
“Three of the four runs today came on two-outs, nobody-on rallies.”

Kansas City has the youngest 25-man roster in the majors.

“This is the most painful part,” Yost said. “This is where it hurts. We
start to really show some improvement, but you can’t get over the hump in
winning games. You’re really close. The hardest part is maintaining your
patience and maintaining your sense of reality. Exactly what you’re trying to
accomplish and how you’re going to get there.”

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead when Zobrist drove in two runs on a third-inning
triple. Desmond Jennings(notes) tripled and scored to make it 3-1 on Evan Longoria’s(notes)
fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

Sean Rodriguez(notes) extended the advantage to 4-1 on an eighth-inning RBI single.

The Royals had runners on second and third with no outs in the first, but
scored just one run on Eric Hosmer’s(notes) grounder. Kansas City was hitless in five
at-bats with runners in scoring position through two innings.

Hosmer was retired on a grounder with two on and two outs in the fifth.
Niemann struck out Alex Gordon(notes) with two outs and the bases loaded one inning
later.

Niemann retired 10 in a row after Alcides Escobar(notes) had an infield single with
one out in the second. He is 4-0 in six games, including five starts, against
Kansas City.

Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon(notes) singled during the first and moved past
George Davis into 65th place on the all-time hits list with 2,684.

NOTES: Yost did not talk with his team about Wednesday’s tough loss.
“They’re resilient,” he said. “They’re fine.” … Longoria has a season-high
eight-game hitting streak. … Royals LHP Bruce Chen(notes) (6-5) will go against
Chicago White Sox RHP Zach Stewart(notes) (1-0) on Friday night. Chen is 1-3 with a
3.66 ERA in 12 games, including seven starts, against the White Sox. … Royals
CF Melky Cabrera(notes) had three hits in his 49th multihit game of the season.

Tampa Bay starts a key six-game road trip against New York and Boston on Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The Rays started the day 8½ games behind the AL wild-card leading Yankees and trail AL East-leading Boston by 9½ games.

“Playing in our division is always a gas, and going up there to do it makes it even more fun,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Another good test for us. We’re trying to climb back in this thing one step at a time. It’s up to us.”

Rays left-hander David Price (9-10) will face Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia (16-6) in a matchup of All-Stars in the opener of a three-game series.

“Everybody here still has that playoff mindset,” Price said.

Niemann (7-4) allowed one run and nine hits over 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 6-0 in nine starts since returning from a strained lower back.

“Things weren’t coming as easily as they have been the past few games,” Niemann said. “You’re going to have starts when you’re not as sharp.”

The Rays’ first four-game home sweep since July 28-31, 2005 — also against Kansas City — included an 8-7 win Wednesday night in which Tampa Bay scored five times in the ninth.

After Joel Peralta threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay, Kyle Farnsworth pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Rookie left-hander Danny Duffy (3-6) gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings.

The Royals had 11 hits, but ended up 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position,

“It gets real frustrating when, quite frankly, in four games and we were one hit or one pitch away from going 4-0,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “Three of the four runs today came on two-outs, nobody-on rallies.”

Kansas City has the youngest 25-man roster in the majors.

“This is the most painful part,” Yost said. “This is where it hurts. We start to really show some improvement, but you can’t get over the hump in winning games. You’re really close. The hardest part is maintaining your patience and maintaining your sense of reality. Exactly what you’re trying to accomplish and how you’re going to get there.”

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead when Zobrist drove in two runs on a third-inning triple. Desmond Jennings tripled and scored to make it 3-1 on Evan Longoria’s fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

Sean Rodriguez extended the advantage to 4-1 on an eighth-inning RBI single.

The Royals had runners on second and third with no outs in the first, but scored just one run on Eric Hosmer’s grounder. Kansas City was hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position through two innings.

Hosmer was retired on a grounder with two on and two outs in the fifth. Niemann struck out Alex Gordon with two outs and the bases loaded one inning later.

Niemann retired 10 in a row after Alcides Escobar had an infield single with one out in the second. He is 4-0 in six games, including five starts, against Kansas City.

Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon singled during the first and moved past George Davis into 65th place on the all-time hits list with 2,684.

NOTES: Yost did not talk with his team about Wednesday’s tough loss. “They’re resilient,” he said. “They’re fine.” … Longoria has a season-high eight-game hitting streak. … Royals LHP Bruce Chen (6-5) will go against Chicago White Sox RHP Zach Stewart (1-0) on Friday night. Chen is 1-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 games, including seven starts, against the White Sox. … Royals CF Melky Cabrera had three hits in his 49th multihit game of the season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 11, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have momentum heading into a week of important division games.

Jeff Niemann won his sixth consecutive decision, Ben Zobrist had a two-run triple and the Rays completed a four-game sweep with a 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Tampa Bay starts a key six-game road trip against New York and Boston on Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The Rays started the day 8½ games behind the AL wild-card leading Yankees and trail AL East-leading Boston by 9½ games.

“Playing in our division is always a gas, and going up there to do it makes it even more fun,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Another good test for us. We’re trying to climb back in this thing one step at a time. It’s up to us.”

Rays left-hander David Price (9-10) will face Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia (16-6) in a matchup of All-Stars in the opener of a three-game series.

“Everybody here still has that playoff mindset,” Price said.

Niemann (7-4) allowed one run and nine hits over 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 6-0 in nine starts since returning from a strained lower back.

“Things weren’t coming as easily as they have been the past few games,” Niemann said. “You’re going to have starts when you’re not as sharp.”

The Rays’ first four-game home sweep since July 28-31, 2005 — also against Kansas City — included an 8-7 win Wednesday night in which Tampa Bay scored five times in the ninth.

After Joel Peralta threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay, Kyle Farnsworth pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Rookie left-hander Danny Duffy (3-6) gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings.

The Royals had 11 hits, but ended up 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position,

“It gets real frustrating when, quite frankly, in four games and we were one hit or one pitch away from going 4-0,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “Three of the four runs today came on two-outs, nobody-on rallies.”

Kansas City has the youngest 25-man roster in the majors.

“This is the most painful part,” Yost said. “This is where it hurts. We start to really show some improvement, but you can’t get over the hump in winning games. You’re really close. The hardest part is maintaining your patience and maintaining your sense of reality. Exactly what you’re trying to accomplish and how you’re going to get there.”

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead when Zobrist drove in two runs on a third-inning triple. Desmond Jennings tripled and scored to make it 3-1 on Evan Longoria’s fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

Sean Rodriguez extended the advantage to 4-1 on an eighth-inning RBI single.

The Royals had runners on second and third with no outs in the first, but scored just one run on Eric Hosmer’s grounder. Kansas City was hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position through two innings.

Hosmer was retired on a grounder with two on and two outs in the fifth. Niemann struck out Alex Gordon with two outs and the bases loaded one inning later.

Niemann retired 10 in a row after Alcides Escobar had an infield single with one out in the second. He is 4-0 in six games, including five starts, against Kansas City.

Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon singled during the first and moved past George Davis into 65th place on the all-time hits list with 2,684.

Notes

• Yost did not talk with his team about Wednesday’s tough loss. “They’re resilient,” he said. “They’re fine.”
• Longoria has a season-high eight-game hitting streak.
• Royals LHP Bruce Chen (6-5) will go against White Sox RHP Zach Stewart (1-0) on Friday night. Chen is 1-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 games, including seven starts, against the White Sox.
• Royals CF Melky Cabrera had three hits in his 49th multihit game of the season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP)—The Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of sloppy New
York defense to edge the Yankees 3-2 in the American League on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson(notes) (9-7) pitched seven strong innings,
retiring 13 of 15 batters after giving up a two-run homer in the third. That
helped the Rays stay close until they finally broke through against Bartolo
Colon(notes) (6-6) in the seventh.

With two on, New York center fielder Curtis Granderson(notes) lost track of a fly
ball looking up toward the roof, allowing a single that loaded the bases. It
looked as though the Yankees might escape the jam when the next batter, Elliot
Johnson(notes), hit a tailor-made, double-play grounder back to the mound, but pitcher
Boone Logan(notes) failed to collect it in an error that enabled the Rays to tie it
2-2.

A sacrifice fly by former Yankee Johnny Damon(notes) drove in the the go-ahead run
from third, beating Granderson’s wild throw to home plate.

Rays reliever Joel Peralta(notes) worked a perfect ninth for his first save.

Orioles 6, Red Sox 2

In Baltimore, Jeremy Guthrie(notes) allowed only two runs over seven innings in an
effort that belied his record as the pitcher with the most losses in the majors
this season, steering Baltimore past Boston.

Guthrie (4-13) walked only one as he ended a run of losing his past seven
decisions against the Red Sox.

Derrek Lee(notes) and Mark Reynolds(notes) hit successive homers in the eighth to turn a
one-run lead into a more comfortable cushion for the Orioles, who lost their
previous seven games against Boston this season.

Red Sox starter Kyle Weiland(notes) (0-1) yielded three runs in six innings.

Twins 2, Indians 1

In Minneapolis, Danny Valencia(notes) hit a two-run single in the ninth inning,
sending Minnesota to a victory over Cleveland.

Indians All-Star closer Chris Perez(notes) (2-5) walked Joe Mauer(notes) and gave up a
double to Michael Cuddyer(notes). Jim Thome(notes) was intentionally walked to load the bases,
and Valencia followed with a bloop single.

Twins closer Glen Perkins(notes) (2-1) picked up the win in relief.

Tigers 8, Athletics 3

In Detroit, Miguel Cabrera(notes) and Carlos Guillen(notes) each hit a two-run homer in
Detroit’s six-run fifth inning against Oakland.

The Tigers trailed 3-1 before they grabbed control in the fifth against
Guillermo Moscoso(notes) (3-5), who allowed six runs in 4 2-3 innings.

After Magglio Ordonez(notes) brought Detroit within a run on a sacrifice fly,
Cabrera hit his 20th homer of the season, putting the Tigers ahead to stay. It
was his 600th career extra-base hit.

Detroit starter Rick Porcello(notes) (9-6) allowed three runs in six innings.

Guillen hit his first home run of the season, after returning from left knee
injury.

Blue Jays 6, Mariners 5, 14 innings

In Toronto, Rajai Davis(notes) stole two bases before scoring on a sacrifice fly in
the 14th inning as Toronto extended Seattle’s losing streak to 10 games.

The Mariners held a players-only meeting on the field before batting
practice, but couldn’t arrest their longest slide since 2008.

Davis hit a one-out single off Jamey Wright(notes) (2-3) in the 14th and stole
second and third before scoring on John McDonald’s(notes) fly to center.

Activated from the disabled list before the game, Casey Janssen(notes) (3-0)
pitched a scoreless inning for the win while Adam Lind(notes) had a two-run homer for
the Blue Jays.

Royals 4, White Sox 2

In Kansas City, Danny Duffy(notes) returned from the minors to toss seven sharp
innings and steer Kansas City past Chicago.

Duffy (2-4) settled down after a shaky start to outpitch Jake Peavy(notes) (4-4),
mowing down a White Sox lineup stacked with right-handed hitters.

Matt Treanor(notes) delivered a go-ahead, two-run single, while Melky Cabrera(notes)
homered and Alcides Escobar(notes) drove in the other run for Kansas City. The Royals’
recent anemic offensive output prompted manager Ned Yost to call a closed-door
meeting a couple of hours before the first pitch.

June 2, 2011 – North American League (NAL)
(June 2, 2011. San Ramon, CA) The North American Baseball League, one of the premier independent professional leagues on the continent, announced that Chico Outlaws RHP Jim Paduch has had his contract purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays. With the NBL season less than a week old he is the first player from the league to be acquired during this inaugural season.

Paduch has spent four years in the independent leagues after a career in affiliated ball that took him all the way to AAA in 2006. The 6’3 right hander was scheduled as the number two starter for the Outlaws this year. In his limited time on the mound, just one regular season game and three preseason outings, Paduch proved to be an intimidating foe for hitters. Paduch dominated Spring Training as he pitched eleven innings while allowing only three hits, no runs, and striking out twelve. His impressive numbers continued into his lone outing of the season, last Friday night against the Yuma Scorpions. Paduch allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out seven in the same number of innings impressing scouts from a number of MLB teams who were in attendance.

He will now join the Montgomery Biscuits, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ AA team. The Biscuits must have a keen eye for pitching talent as Paduch will join a rotation flush with accolades. The staff is led by Matt Moore, a strikeout ace listed by Baseball America as the league’s 15th best prospect and Tampa Bay’s second. The rotation also consists of minor league all-stars Nick Barnese and former Chicago Cubs’ top prospect Chris Archer.

The Chico Outlaws are quickly becoming an extended farm system for major league teams as Jim Paduch is the 13th player to be purchased by a major league team since the Outlaws inaugural year in 2005. The list is highlighted by former Outlaws outfielder, Daniel Nava, who played 60 games last year for the Boston Red Sox as he smacked a grand slam on the first big league pitch he saw. Nava’s success story, going from manning the outfield at Nettleton Stadium in Chico, CA to having the dubious task of playing left field in front of The Green Monster, displays the potential for the North American League to act as a grand stage for potential athletes in search of a career in the bigs.

• Discuss this story on the North American League message board…

• Digg this story

• Add to Del.icio.us

• Colts Win Third Straight – San Angelo Colts

• Roadrunners Drop Third Straight – Edinburg Roadrunners

• WhiteWings Pick up 200th Victory – Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings

• Tampa Bay Rays Acquire RHP Jim Paduch from the Chico Outlaws – NAL

• Koa Ikaika Looking For Revenge In Championship Rematch With Chico – Strong Warriors of Maui

• WhiteWings Add Two to Roster – Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings

• Proceeds from Auction Benefit Border Patrol – Yuma Scorpions

• Jose Canseco to Return to Lineup – Yuma Scorpions

• Fielders Defeat Maui 9-6 in Series Finale – Lake County Fielders

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.