Riggans, Sonnanstine lead Rays over Bucs, into first in AL East
Baseball Betting Lines
06/29/2008 -
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Riggans went 3-for-4, homered, drove
in two and scored, and the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Pirates, 4-3, to take
two of three from Pittsburgh, and take first place in the American League
East.
The Red Sox lost to the Astros, 3-2, on Sunday, allowing the Rays to vault
past Boston and into first prior to a three-game set between the clubs.
Boston, which led Tampa by a half-game entering play Sunday, visits the Rays
for three games starting on Monday. This will be the first matchup between the
clubs since Boston's three-game sweep of the Rays at Fenway Park in early
June, a series which included a benches-clearing brawl.
The win put the Rays back at a franchise-record 17 games over .500. Tampa is
49-32 at the season's official halfway point, after going a major league-worst
66-96 last season. The previous best record for the club at the halfway mark
was 40-41 in 2004.
Andy Sonnanstine (9-3) scattered five hits and two runs over seven frames,
fanning four and walking one for the Rays, who have won five of six heading
into another clash with the American League East-leading Red Sox.
"I went in with the mindset, knowing that I'm going in as long as I can. It's
tough with the National League rules,the pitchers bat in the line-up. I feel
real good about what happened," said Sonnanstine.
Jack Wilson went 2-for-4 and scored twice for the Pirates, who have dropped
three of four. Tyler Yates (3-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on
three hits in two innings of relief for Tom Gorzelanny, who gave up two runs
on eight hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in six frames.
"Today was a tough one," said Wilson. "We battled, Gorzo (Gorzelanny) threw
great.The other guy (Sonnanstine) had really good off-speed stuff, keeping us
off-balanced. We had our chances. In the end, we couldn't come though."
The game was tied at 2-2 after seven innings, but an Xavier Nady throwing
error allowed the Rays to go on top in the eighth. Carlos Pena led off with a
single to right, and Willy Aybar followed with another single to right. Nady
tried to throw Pena out at third, but his throw bounced up the line, allowing
Pena to score the go-ahead run.
Riggans singled in Aybar later in the frame for a 4-2 lead.
Ryan Doumit's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth cut the deficit to one run
for the Pirates, but Troy Percival recovered from a leadoff walk and set down
the next three batters in the ninth to pick up his 19th save.
Riggans' leadoff homer in the fourth put Tampa on top, but Jason Bay's
sacrifice fly in the home half tied it at 1-1.
Aybar led off the sixth with a homer to left, again putting the Rays in front
by a run, but Nate McLouth's RBI groundout in the sixth knotted the game.
Game Notes
Tampa finished its interleague slate 12-6, while the Pirates went 5-9 against
the AL...Following their 4-3, 13-inning win on Saturday, the Pirates
optioned pitcher Ty Taubenheim to Triple-A Indianapolis. On Sunday they
recalled right-handed reliever Romulo Sanchez from their Triple-A
affiliate...The Rays outhit the Bucs, 12-7, but left 11 runners on base,
including failing to score despite loading the bases with one out in the
second.
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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
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''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
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