Home Runs Put Title Within Reach

Chicks dig the long ball, so chicks have to dig the Phillies. Led by Ryan Howard's 48 regular season bombs, the Phillies hit a National League-leading 214 home runs. Only the Chicago White Sox (235) hit more home runs this season. Last night the Tampa Rays felt the full brunt of Howard and the Phillies power.

The Phillies blasted their way to a 10-2 victory to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Howard hit a pair of blasts, and pitcher Joe Blanton and right fielder Jayson Werth each hit one as the Phillies knocked around Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa bullpen.

Blanton, meanwhile was marvelous. He limited the Rays to four hits over six innings, allowing a pair of runs. But the biggest ovation he received on the night was when he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of Edwin Jackson in the fifth inning that extended the Phillies lead to 6-2. At his teammates insistence, Blanton took a curtain call for the raucous crowd of over 45,000.

The Phillies put the game away in the eighth when Werth followed a double by Jimmy Rollins with a 2-run shot to left-center off of Dan Wheeler. Lefty specialist Trever Miller came on, but he walked Chase Utley and then Howard unloaded his second home run, a tremendous shot to right field.

Sonnanstine was shaky from the start, walking Pat Burrell with the bases loaded to put the Phillies on the board first. The Phillies again failed to break an inning open though, as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz couldn't get another run in.

Moments after Fox praised Aki Iwamura's transition from third to second base, the Japanese veteran booted Utley's grounder to start the third. Howard's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but it appeared the Phillies would fail in the clutch again when Burrell and Victorino both flied out to shallow left. Feliz came through with a big 2-out hit though, singling to left for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz also singled, but Blanton fouled out to end the threat.

The Rays got on the board in the fourth when Carl Crawford went deep for the second time in the series. But Iwamura's second error, in the bottom of the inning, set the wheels in motion for the game changing play. Utley drew a walk to put two aboard, but Sonnanstine struck out Werth for the first out. With the Rays hoping to turn an inning ending double play, Howard crushed a pitch into the left field seats for a 3-run home run and a 5-1 Phillies lead.

Eric Hinske, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd on the roster earlier in the day, took Blanton deep in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-2. But Blanton and his teammates continued to impress the chicks and the Phillies fans with their long ball display.


News and Notes

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-29 in the series with 15 strikeouts.

Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years, since Ken Holtzman in 1974, to hit a home run in the series. He also became the first player to hit his first major league home run in the World Series.

The Phillies were actually 4-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position last night. For the series they are 6-47.

Ryan Howard joined Len Dykstra (1993) as the only Phillies with a multi-HR game in the series.

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Hamels the Hero Again

If game 1 is any indication, the 2008 World Series should be a good one. But the Rays won't win it unless they can either solve Cole Hamels or beat up on the rest of the Phillies rotation. Hamels put in another masterful post-season performance, holding the Rays to 5 hits over 7 innings, as the Phillies edged the Rays 3-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Hamels is now 4-0, 1.55 in four post-season appearances. He's limited hitters to a .178 average and struck out 27 batters in 29 innings. He got an immediate boost in last night's game when Chase Utley followed Jayson Werth's first inning walk with a 2-run home run to right field off of Scott Kazmir.

The Rays biggest threat came in the third inning when they loaded the bases on singles by Ben Zobrist and Aki Iwamura sandwiched around a Jason Bartlett walk. The Rays had their hottest hitter up in B.J. Upton, and Upton did hit a scorcher. But it was right at third baseman Pedro Feliz who started an inning ending 5-4-3 double play.

The Phillies added a run in the fourth inning that would be the difference in the ball game. Shane Victorino and Feliz stroked back to back singles off of Kazmir to start the inning, and moved up a base on Chris Coste's ground out. With the infield playing back to stop a big inning, Carlos Ruiz grounded to Bartlett for an RBI ground out. Kazmir got out of further trouble by striking out Jimmy Rollins to end the threat.

Carl Crawford got the Rays back in the ball game when he went yard against Hamels in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Phillies lead to 3-1. One inning later the Rays mounted a 2-out threat after Bartlett walked and stole second base. Iwamura came through with a big 2-out hit, doubling to left-center field to cut the margin to 3-2. But Hamels got Upton to foul out to end the inning.

The Phillies had a chance to increase their lead in a wild seventh inning. J.P. Howell came on to replace Kazmir and struck out Werth to start the inning. Chase Utley then singled, stole second base, and moved to third on Howell's wild pitch. But Howell bounced back and struck out Ryan Howard before issuing an unintentional intentional walk to Pat Burell. Joe Maddon sent for Grant Balfour, who made the move pay off by striking out Victorino to end the inning.

Ryan Madson was overpowering out of the Phils pen in the eighth, striking out Upton to punctuate a 1-2-3 inning. Then it was up to Brad Lidge who was perfect in 46 save chances during the regular season. No problem. He K'd Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria and then retired Crawford on a foul out to end the game.


News and Notes

The heart of the Rays order, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and B.J. Upton, went a combined 0-12. Upton hit into two double plays in addition to a strike out and foul out.

Chase Utley joined a litany of players to homer in their first World Series at-bat.

Aki Iwamura had 3 of the 5 hits allowed by Cole Hamels.

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Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

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Rays Sacrifice to Stay Alive

It's difficult to say a team has their backs to the wall after the first game of a seven game playoff series, but that was really the case for the Tampa Rays last evening. Going back to Boston down two games to none, would have created a nearly impossible feat even for an experienced playoff team. But the Rays won't have to worry about that situation. Last night they pulled out a see-saw battle with the Red Sox on B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning.

If Terry Francona has made a mistake in this playoff, it's keeping Mike Timlin on the post-season roster. While the thinking was probably not use Timlin in a big situation, Francona had no choice last night after having used five relievers, including his closer Jon Papelbon for 1.1 innings.

Timlin walked Dioner Navarro and light hitting Ben Zobrist to start the inning. Jason Bartlett's sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base, forcing the Red Sox to intentionally walk Aki Iwamura to load the bases. That brought up B.J. Upton, who hit a fly to shallow right. The Rays gambled that J.D. Drew, running hard on the play, would not be able to set himself for an accurate throw home. The gamble paid off when speedy pinch-runner Fernando Perez slid home with the winning run ahead of an off the target throw by Drew.

The Rays would not have been in position to win if not for the relief work of veteran Dan Wheeler and rookie David Price. Wheeler had to bounce back after his wild pitch allowed the Red Sox to tie the game in the eighth inning. But he tossed a scoreless ninth and tenth before leaving with one man out in the 11th and runner on a first. Price, the number one overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft, walked Drew, but struck out Mark Kotsay looking and got Coco Crisp to bounce into an inning ending ground out.

Neither starter pitched well, with Boston's Josh Beckett fighting a strained oblique and Tampa's Scott Kazmir continuing his '08 struggles against the Red Sox. Boston struck first against Kazmir, who was 0-2, 9.00 in four starts against the Sox this season. Kazmir's control problems came up to bite him in the first inning when he issued a two out walk to David Ortiz. Kevin Youkilis followed with a single and Jason Bay brought them both home with a double. Kazmir walked Jed Lowrie, but struck out Jason Varitek to escape further trouble.

The Rays came right back though when Evan Longoria smacked a 2-run home run, his third of the post-season, in the bottom half of the first. The tie only lasted until the third when Dustin Pedroia smashed a solo home run to left. That lead would last an even shorter amount of time when Upton crushed a 424-ft solo shot in the bottom of the third. Longoria stroked a one out double and came home on Carl Crawford's single for a 4-3 Rays lead.

Tampa extended their advantage to 5-3 when Cliff Floyd led off with a solo home run to straight away center field. But Kazmir wouldn't stick around to try to get the win. Pedroia's second solo shot of the game and Youkilis' own solo blast one batter later knocked Kazmir from the box and tied the game at 5-5. Bay greeted Grant Balfour with another solo home run to put the Red Sox ahead 6-5. Balfour then walked Lowrie and Varitek before J.P. Howell came on to work out of the jam.

Upton led off the fifth with a walk and promptly stole second base. Carlos Pena singled off of Beckett to tie the game and came home on Longoria's second double, and third extra base hit, of the ball game. Fracona finally yanked Beckett from the game, but Crawford laced reliever Javier Lopez's delivery to right for an RBI single and an 8-6 Rays lead. Manny DelCarmen was next out of the Boston pen and he finally quelled the fire.

Pedroia drew a one out walk in the sixth, but Howell struck out Ortiz looking. Joe Maddon went to the pen again for right-hander Chad Bradford, but Bradford gave up back to back singles to Youkilis and Bay to cut the Rays lead to 8-7.

After a scoreless seventh, only the second scoreless inning of the game, Pedroia singled off of Bradford to start the eighth. Maddon sent for lefty Trevor Miller to face Ortiz, but Big Papi drew a walk as well. Wheeler came on and got a big double play grounder from Youkilis, but then threw a fastball a mile over Navarro's head to allow Pedroia to score the tying run.

Box Score

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Dice Rolls Lucky 7

Daisuke Matsuzaka threw a masterful seven innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 2-0 win over the Tampa Rays in game one of the ALCS.

Matsuzaka tossed six innings of no-hit ball before Carl Crawford led off the seventh inning with a single to right field. Trailing 1-0, Cliff Floyd followed with a single to center to put runners on the corners with no one out. But Matsuzaka retired Dioner Navarro on a fly to shallow left, struck out Gabe Gross, and hen got Jason Bartlett to bounce out to escape the jam.

Terry Francona went to the pen with a 2-0 lead in the eighth after Matsuzaka gave up back to back singles, sandwiched around a wild pitch, to Aki Iwamura and B.J. Upton to once again put runners on the corners with no one out. Lefty specialist Hideki Okajima got Carlos Pena to fly out to shallow right on a 3-0 pitch, and Justin Masterson came on to induce an inning ending double play ball from Evan Longoria.

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead against Rays starter James Shields in the fifth inning when Jason Bay drew a lead off walk and moved to third base on Mark Kotsay's double. Jed Lowrie's sac fly brought home Bay to break the scoreless tie.

The Sox then added a big insurance run in the seventh inning. Dustin Pedroia reached on a one out single off of J.P. Howell and stole second base. David Ortiz followed with a walk, and Kevin Youkilis ripped a low liner to left that glanced off the glove of a sliding Crawford, allowing Pedroia to score. Joe Maddon sent for Grant Balfour, who immediately hit J.D. Drew to load the bases. But Balfour got out of further trouble by striking out Bay and retiring Kotsay on a fly out.

Jon Papelbon came on in the ninth inning for the Red Sox, retiring the side in order to pick up the save.

Box Score

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The Pennant Race - 10/10

ALCS Preview

The Rays and Red Sox are just about set to begin game one of their best of seven ALCS series. The Rays are trying to keep their amazing ride going after making the post-season for the first time in their history. The Red Sox are looking to build a mini-dynasty, which arguably could happen should they win a third World Series title in five years.

The Rays played hard-nosed baseball right from the start of the season (see Francisco Cervelli). They've got a manager in Joe Maddon who does a good job of balancing a team of younger players, sprinkled with a handful of key veterans. He hasn't been afraid to show who's boss, benching star player B.J. Upton during the stretch drive due to a lack of hustle.

His counterpart on the Red Sox, Terry Francona, has come a long way in his five years in Boston. He was ostensibly hired to mollify Curt Schilling. Francona was shredded by fans and the media part way through his first season in 2004, but soon he was at the helm of the greatest comeback in playoff history and was lauded as the man who had broken the "Curse of the Bambino". He's now attained hero worship status not only because of winning a title last year, but also the way he conducts his business.

The Red Sox have physically had a rough year. Injuries to Schilling, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo had a major impact on the team. There was the whole Manny Ramirez mess, a disappointing year by Clay Buchholz, and like many teams, difficulty in building a steady bullpen.

But outstanding years by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester, and the steady performance of Josh Beckett led the rotation. Jason Bay stepped in big time for Ramirez, and Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis had outstanding seasons. Bottom line: Boston is still a very dangerous team.

The Rays have a balanced line up, mixing speed and power. They have a shooting superstar in rookie Evan Longoria and a solid veteran core in Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Cliff Floyd. But the key to the Rays' amazing turnaround has been their pitching staff. A starting rotation of Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and Edwin Jackson combined to go 64-45.

The big blow to this team is the loss of Troy Percival, who recorded 28 saves before myriad leg problems caused him to miss time, including the ALCS. The removal of Percival has made the pen weaker, because there's one less setup man to build the bridge to the ninth. Dan Wheeler has stepped up with 13 saves, but he doesn't exactly give you a great feeling of confidence. Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Chad Bradford will need to continue to step up if the Rays are to stand a chance.

The Rays won the season series 10-8, but the Red Sox have to be considered the favorite here.

Probable Pitchers

Game 1 (10/10) - Dice-K vs. James Shields
Game 2 (10/11) - Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir
Game 3 (10/13) - Matt Garza vs. Jon Lester
Game 4 (10/14) - Andy Sonnanstine vs. Tim Wakefield
Game 5 (10/16) - James Shields vs. Dice-K
Game 6 (10/18) - Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir
Game 7 (10/19) - Jon Lester vs. Matt Garza

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The Pennant Race - 8/13

AL EAST

The Red Sox gained a game on the the Rays with a win in one of the wildest games in recent memory. The Sox jumped out to a 10-0 first inning lead with David Ortiz hitting a pair of 3-run home runs. As the Fenway faithful were yelling, "This is wicked awesome!", the Rangers started chipping away and put up an eight spot in the fifth inning. Trailing 12-10, the Rangers responded with a 5-run sixth inning. Suddenly the Rangers had a 16-14 lead. But no lead is safe in Fenway and it always helps to bat last. The Sox battered the Rangers bullpen for four more runs in the eighth, capped off with Kevin Youkilis' second home run, a 3-run shot. Texas got one back off Jon Papelbon in the ninth, but the Red Sox held on for a 19-17 win.

The Red Sox look like they have one more loss though, Mike Lowell to the DL with a strained oblique. Shortstop Julio Lugo isn't expected back until September, so Youkilis will probably move to third base, with Sean Casey taking over at first.

Meanwhile A's rookie Gio Gonzalez picked up his first major league victory with five innings of work in Oakland's 2-1 win over Tampa. The Rays have to be concerned about their offense now with Evan Longoria out until approximately September 1, and Carl Crawford done for the season with a tendon tear in his finger. One month of Barry Bonds? A deal for Gary Sheffield?


AL CENTRAL

The White Sox leaped over the Twins and back into first place with a 9-0 white washing of the Royals. Javier Vazquez struck out 10 in eight innings to improve to 9-10. The home run happy Chisox got blasts from Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzyinski, and Nick Swisher.

Tigers owner Mike Illitch had enough of Gary Sheffield's mouth and ordered the team to put him on waivers. Sheffield responded by hitting two home runs. The Tigers look like they may also shut down Joel Zumaya with continuing arm problems.


AL WEST

The Angels won for a change, 7-3 over Seattle. K-Rod picked up his 44th save. Mark Teixeira has 10 RBI in 12 games with the Halos.


NL EAST

Mets fans and radio talking heads have been getting on Johan Santana for his habit of giving up leads as soon as the Mets get them. The two time Cy Young winner blew two leads last night, but the Mets pulled out a 4-3 win when Damion Easley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Santana earned his 10th win.

The Mets picked up a game on the Phillies, whose bullpen blew a lead late to the Dodgers. Cole Hamels departed the game with a 3-2 lead after seven innings, but Chad Durbin gave up the tying run in the eighth and J.C. Romero was tagged for a walk-off single by LA's Andre Ethier for a 4-3 loss.

The Phillies pen took another hit when it was learned that they will probably be without Tom Gordon for the rest of the year.

Hanley Ramirez's second inning 3-run home run withstood the Cardinals and a lengthy rain delay, in the Marlins' 4-3 win. Rookie Chris Volstad outpitched 13-game winner Kyle Lohse for his fourth win.


NL CENTRAL

With the Cubs and Braves rained out, the Brewers were able to gain a half-game in the standings with a 5-2 win over the Padres. Jeff Suppan pitched 4-hit ball for eight innings and Mike Cameron and Prince Fielder went deep.


NL WEST

The Diamondbacks retained their one game lead on the Dodgers with a 4-2 triumph over the Rockies. Randy Johnson earned his 10th win of the season and career win number 294. Newcomer Adam Dunn was 1-3 with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

The Arizona Republic reported that Micah Owings may be one of the players going to Cincinnati in exchange for Dunn.

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The Pennant Race - 8/11

The Rays just keep on trucking. They squashed the Mariners, 11-3, on Sunday to set a franchise record with their 71st win. They also moved 4.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East after Boston lost to the White Sox, 6-5 on Sunday. The Yankees dropped back to 8.5 out.

The AL Central will be a fight to the finish with the Twins continuing to breathe down the White Sox' necks. Just a half-game separates the two teams. The Twins are also just 1.5 back of the Red Sox for the Wild Card.

The Angels, of course, are racing to the finish line in the AL West.

The Phillies continue to cling to the lead in the NL East, 2 games ahead of the Mets and 2.5 ahead of the Marlins. The Cubs have a healthy 4 game lead over the Brewers, while the Cardinals continue to fade, 7 games back, though just 3 out of the Wild Card.

And in the not so wild West, the Diamondbacks lead Manny and the Dodgers by 1.5 games.

The Diamondbacks got a big time performance on Sunday from their ace, Brandon Webb, who went out and became the majors' first 17-game winner. Bad news too though for AZ, as second baseman Orlando Hudson was lost for the year with a dislocated wrist.

The Diamondbacks go on the road to face the Rockies and Astros this week.

The Dodgers and Giants have always crushed each other's hopes no matter who was better, and that continued this weekend as the Giants took two walk-off wins in their three games. The Dodgers led 2-1 in the 10th on Saturday, but after the Giants tied the game on an error, Aaron Roward sent the Giants home as winners with a single.

A two run rally in the 9th on Sunday gave the Giants another come-from-behind win. With the score tied 4-4, light hitting Eugenio Velez provided the game-winning hit.

Manny is still doing his part though, hitting .459, 4-11 in 9 games. Tough week ahead for the Dodgers though, as they host the Phillies and Brewers.

The Mets were hoping to get a sweep over the Marlins, but Josh Johnson again showed how much Florida has missed him. He allowed 2 runs and 5 hits over 7 innings to improve to 3-0, 3.19, in his 6 starts this season. After establishing himself as the most consistent Mets starter after Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey has gotten pounded in two of his last three starts.

The schedule is favorable for the Mets this week as they go on the road to face the Nationals and Pirates.

The Phillies dropped the first game of their series with the Pirates on Friday, but got a huge start from Brett Myers (7.2, 1 ER, 5 H) on Saturday and came from behind on Sunday when Chase Utley belted a 2-run home run. It was Utley's first home run at home in over a month.

The Phillies go west for the Padres and Dodgers before returning home for a big 8-game homestand.

The Cubs took 2 of 3 from the Cards with a big outing from Ryan Dempster on Sunday. Dempster recorded 85 saves over the last three seasons, but has really stepped up in his return to the rotation, recording his 13th win in a 6-2 Cubs victory.

The Cubs visit the southeast this week to take on the Braves and Marlins.

CC Sabathia's reps must be drooling all over themselves. They had to be concerned when their big left-hander was slow out of the gate, but after turning things around in Cleveland, he has been dominating National League hitters with the Brewers. Sabathia tossed a complete game shutout of the Nationals on Friday. It was his fourth complete game in seven starts since the trade to the NL, and he now has seven complete games on the season. That total in today's game is like completing 35 games back in the 1970's.

Another pending free agent, Ben Sheets, gave the Brewers another lift on Saturday, when he tossed a complete game shutout of his own. Ned Yost finally relented and used the pen on Sunday in a 10 inning Milwaukee win. It came on a Gabe Kapler walk-off home run. Yost does have a concern now though: Ryan Braun's lower back. The stud second-year player injured it on Saturday and missed yesterday's game.

The Brewers visit SoCal this week to face the Padres and Dodgers.

Wait a minute. Are we imagining things? Well, not in this case. That really was Rocco Baldelli in Tampa's lineup on Sunday. The injury-prone outfielder went 1-4 with an RBI in his first major league game since May 15, 2007. His timing was perfect with Carl Crawford landing on the DL with a hand injury. Crawford felt something pop in Saturday's game and its been diagnosed as a tendon problem.

Tampa managed just a split of the four game series after blowing a lead in Saturday's game, but they still extended their lead with the Red Sox losing 2 of 3 over the weekend. Boston and Chicago go at it for a fourth time tonight.

The Rays travel to Oakland and Texas this week.

Much has been made of Clay Buccholz in Boston, especially after his September no-hitter, but the right-hander has struggled in his first full season in Beantown. Yesterday's loss dropped him to 2-8, 6.32 this season. The Red Sox also lost Tim Wakefield to the DL with a sore shoulder and Bartolo Colon has been slow in rehabbing an injured back. The Red Sox may turn to David Pauley or could pull Justin Masterson back out of the bullpen to take Wakefield's spot in the rotation.

The Red Sox start a 6-game homestand on Tuesday with Texas and Toronto coming to town.

The White Sox have hit five home runs in the first three games of their series with the Red Sox, and have belted a major league-leading 165 for the season. They have seven players in double figures, with Carlos Quentin leading the team with 31. Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome are both closing in on the 30-mark while Nick Swisher and Joe Crede are approaching the 20 home run level.

The White Sox host KC for a 3-game series and then go out west to face the slumping A's for 3 games.

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We Ain't Digging It

We were already pissed off about the David Ortiz All-Star stunt, so we forgot about this item we saw the other day. The new cover of Sports Illustrated showing Carl Crawford, with an Incredible Hulk like body, doing a one handed lift of a petrified looking Derek Jeter. Meanwhile Bizarro Superman looks quite perplexed in the background.

This was obviously to talk about how the AL East is upset down with the perennial cellar dwelling Rays at the top and the perennial contending Yankees at the bottom.

BUT WE DON'T LIKE IT.

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Yankees Waste Wang Effort

Mariano Rivera knew that his "perfect" season would end some time, he probably just wished it hadn't been tonight. The Yankees wasted another great start by Chien-Ming Wang and lost to the Tampa Rays 2-1 in 11 innings. The win was the Rays 6th in a row and 11th straight at home. It also moved them into sole possession of 1st place in the AL East after Boston lost to Baltimore.

The bomberless Bombers managed just 6 hits against Edwin Jackson and the Rays bullpen. One of those hits was a game tying home run by Hideki Matsui in the 9th inning against closer Troy Percival. It was Matsui's 5th home run and Percival's 2nd blown save.

The Rays had pushed a run across in the 4th against Wang on a double by Carlos Pena and a single by Erick Hinske, who came into the game hitting .444 in 27 at-bats versus Wang. But Wang would scatter 7 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings and not allow another run. But for the second time this season Jackson made the Yankees look sick.

The Yankees had a base runner on in three of the first four innings with nothing to show for it. The Yankees biggest failure came in the 6th inning when Derek Jeter raced to 3rd with a 1-out triple only to be stranded there.

This all points to a problem with this Yankees team that isn't any different from the teams of the last few years. They are still a station to station team. When a team fails to score runs they should be attempting to steal bases, putting on hit and runs, etc.. While the lack of some offensive spark falls in part to the makeup of the team (e.g. Jason Giambi and Jose Molina won't be winning any foot races), some of it also falls on manager Joe Girardi for not putting small ball plays on during the game.

Rivera escaped trouble after allowing a lead off single to Carl Crawford in the 10th, but couldn't manage to make like Houdini in the 11th. Cliff Floyd singled through the right side to lead off the inning before being replaced by pinch-runner Jonny Gomes. Gomes promptly stole 2nd Base, his third theft in two nights. Gabe Gross then lined one back through the middle to easily score Gomes ahead of Melky Cabrera's throw.

News and Notes

Mariano Rivera last gave up at least one run in a regular season game in the final contest of the 2007 season.

Jason Giambi (.194) continued his climb towards the Mendoza line with a 2-2 night. He also walked twice.

Shelley Duncan struck out looking pinch-hitting for Alberto Gonzalez in the 7th inning and is just 6-32 (.188) on the season. Melky Cabrera is in a 6-31 slide while Jose Molina has just 3 hits in his last 41 at-bats.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Johnny Damon, DH	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	.271
Derek Jeter, SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	1	.305
Bobby Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	1	1	2	.287
Hideki Matsui, LF	5	1	1	1	0	0	3	.319
Jason Giambi, 1B	2	0	2	0	2	0	0	.194
Melky Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	3	.269
Robinson Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.183
Alberto Gonzalez, 3B	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.290
a- Shelley Duncan, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.188
Morgan Ensberg, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.219
Jose Molina, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.203
Totals	37	1	6	1	3	7
a-struck out for Gonzalez in the 7th
Batting
3B - Derek Jeter (3, Jackson)
HR - Hideki Matsui (5, Percival)
RBI - Hideki Matsui (18)

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chien-Ming Wang	7	7	1	1	3	2	0	2.90
Joba Chamberlain	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	2.76
Kyle Farnsworth	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2.84
Mariano Rivera (L,0-1)	1	3	1	1	0	1	0	0.56
Pitches-Strikes - Chien-Ming Wang 101-67, Joba Chamberlain 15-6, Kyle Farnsworth 12-5, Mariano Rivera 17-11
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Chien-Ming Wang 14-3, Joba Chamberlain 2-0, Kyle Farnsworth 1-2
Batters Faced - Chien-Ming Wang 29, Joba Chamberlain 4, Kyle Farnsworth 4, Mariano Rivera 6

Tampa Bay Rays
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Akinori Iwamura, 2B	5	0	2	0	0	0	1	.263
Carl Crawford, LF	4	0	1	0	1	1	1	.287
B.J. Upton, CF	4	0	0	0	1	1	3	.287
Carlos Pena, 1B	4	1	1	0	1	1	2	.210
Evan Longoria, 3B	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	.222
Cliff Floyd, DH	4	0	2	0	1	0	2	.391
Jonny Gomes, PR-DH	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.225
Eric Hinske, RF	3	0	1	1	0	0	2	.259
Gabe Gross, RF	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	.214
Dioner Navarro, C	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	.375
Jason Bartlett, SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.242
Totals	37	2	11	2	5	3
Batting
2B - Carlos Pena (2, Wang)
SH - Jason Bartlett (3)
RBI - Eric Hinske (18), Gabe Gross (8)
2-OUT RBI - Eric Hinske (4)
SB - Jonny Gomes (5, 2nd base off M. Rivera/Molina)
Team LOB - 11
Fielding
DP - Longoria-Iwamura-Pena, Iwamura-Bartlett-Pena

Tampa Bay Rays
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edwin Jackson	7	5	0	0	1	5	0	3.47
Dan Wheeler (H,9)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1.29
Troy Percival (BS,2)	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	2.40
J.P. Howell (W,3-0)	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	2.67
WP - Edwin Jackson (4)
Pitches-Strikes - Edwin Jackson 111-72, Dan Wheeler 11-9, Troy Percival 24-13, J.P. Howell 23-13
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Edwin Jackson 9-6, J.P. Howell 3-2
Batters Faced - Edwin Jackson 26, Dan Wheeler 3, Troy Percival 5, J.P. Howell 6

Game Information

Attendance - 16558

Game Time - 3:32

Temperature - 72

Umpires - Home - Ron Kulpa, First Base - Rob Drake, Second Base - Dale Scott, Third Base - Dan Iassogna

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Around the Horn, AL East - 5/12

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Boston Red Sox	24	16	.600	--
Tampa Bay Rays	21	16	.568	1.5
New York Yankees	19	19	.500	4.0
Baltimore Orioles	19	19	.500	4.0
Toronto Blue Jays	17	21	.447	6.0

The Red Sox lost 2 of 3 to the Twins and have dropped 3 of 5. That being said, they still hold a 1.5 game lead over the Rays, while the Yankees sit 4 back. Kevin Youkilis is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. He leads the team in average, home runs and RBI, and is hitting .364 in May. He's already belted 6 home runs in 11 games and has the same number of RBI he had for all of April, 11.

Manny Ramirez was limited to pinch-hitting last night because of a strained hamstring. Ramirez, who has hit just .179 in May, is still 3 home runs shy of the magic 500 mark. Manny's partner in crime, David Ortiz, is climbing out of the April doldrums that saw him hitting below .200. Big Papi is hitting .381 in May with a 1.112 OPS.

Julio Lugo is recovering from post-concussion symptoms and has not yet been cleared to resume activities. Days after Terry Francona said Jed Lowrie would stay with the club, he was sent down to the minors upon Alex Cora's return from the DL. How is Mike Timlin staying on the Red Sox roster? It has to be misplaced loyalty. The veteran right-hander has a 10.00 ERA and has allowed 19 base runners in 9 innings. Dice-K is 6-0, but has allowed 30 walks in 47.2 innings.

The Rays completed a 3-game sweep of the Angels over the weekend and got great pitching in the process. They won back-to-back 2-0 games on Friday and Saturday before out scoring the Angels 8-5 on Sunday. The Rays are now a season high 5 games over .500.

Carl Crawford is on his game right now, which means trouble for opponents. He's already had 4 stolen bases after having 7 in all of April, and 9 RBI this month compared to 13 last month. In addition to steals, he leads the team in runs scored and hits, and is second in RBI.

The Rays are winning despite the struggles of their 2007 MVP. Carlos Pena was rewarded with a big new contract after belting 46 home runs last season. He's hit a respectable 8 this season, but has just 19 RBI and is hitting only .209.

But pitching is the difference in this year's Rays. Their 3.90 team ERA is 5th best in the American League, and they're tops for least amount of hits allowed.

If you had told Orioles manager Dave Trembley is team would be at .500 after 38 games he probably would have been quite happy. The Orioles are not a good team, but they're playing better than they look on paper. The Orioles opened the month by losing 6 of 7, but bounced back this weekend, taking 3 of 4 from the Royals.

This a team at .500 despite .267 being the highest batting average of their regulars. The average belongs to Nick Markakis, who also leads the team in home runs, walks, and OPS. The Orioles young pitching staff, Daniel Cabrera, Brian Burres, Jeremy Guthrie, Garret Olson has been the key to their success thus far as well as an improved bullpen lead by closer George Sherrill.

The Blue Jays are hurting and not just because they're in last place. Injuries have bitten the Jays once again this season. Star center fielder Vernon Wells broke his wrist over the weekend and will be out 6-8 weeks. He joins P Casey Janssen (out for the year), P Jeremy Accardo, SS David Eckstein, MI John McDonald, and P Brian Wolfe on the disabled list. Wells leads the team in almost every offensive category, so its a real blow to a team already scrambling to score runs.

The Blue Jays pitching staff, the best in the AL, is the reason they're not 20 games under .500. Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan, and Jesse Litsch have done everything they can to keep their team in the game. With the bullpen depleted by injury, the Jays took the desperate measure of calling up Armando Benetiz.

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Around the Horn - 4/17

The Tigers bats have come alive. The team that was shut out 4 times already, has scored 30 runs on the last 3 games. Last night it came at the expense of reigning Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia, who has been nothing short of awful this season, and the Indians. He was banged around for 9 runs in 4 innings last night and now has a 13.50 ERA. Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam, and he and Miguel Cabrera drove in 5 runs each.

Felix Hernandez scattered 8 hits in picking up a complete game victory in the Mariners 4-2 win over the A's. The King struck out 8 and lowered his ERA to 1.47.

Gil Meche picked up his first win as the Royals held off the Angels, 3-2. The top 3 batters in the Royals lineup-Joe Gathright, Mark Grudzelienak, and Mark Teahen- went a combined 8-14.

Jim Thome broke out of his slump with career home run #510 in the White Sox 3-1 win over the Orioles. Thome's blast accounted for the all Chisox runs and gave Jose Contreras his first win of the season.

The Rangers took 14 innings to beat the Blue Jays 7-5. Former Jay, Frank Catalanotto scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. A.J. Burnett, the 9th Jays pitcher used, made his first relief appearance since 2004 and was saddled with the loss.

Mike Lamb's sac fly in the 8th inning broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Twins a 6-5 win over the Rays. Shawn Riggans, Carl Crawford, and Eric Hinske homered for Tampa.

The Cubs blasted the Reds 12-3. Geovanny Soto drove in 3 runs and Derek Lee homered to help Carlos Zambrano pick up the win. Zambrano has cut down on caffeine to help stop the muscle cramps he's been getting during games. The Cubs placed Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day DL with a strained calf.

Adam Wainwright homered and picked up his 2nd win in the Cards 5-4 triumph over the Brewers. Skip Schumaker also homered as the Cards improved to 11-4.

Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes each hit their first home runs of the year in the Mets 5-2 over the Nationals. John Maine picked up his first win and sent the Nationals to their 11th loss in 12 games.

Brandon Webb had a 2-run single and became the majors first 4-game winner in the Diamondbacks 4-1 win over the Giants. Mr. Mediocrity, Barry Zito, turned in another mediocre performance with 4 runs (3 earned) and 5 walks allowed in 6 innings.

Michael Bourn homered and Roy Oswalt picked up his first victory in the Astros 2-1 win over the Phillies.

Mike Jacobs and Luis Gonzalez homered in the Marlins 6-5 win over the Braves. Tim Hudson lasted just 3 innings in picking up his loss. Mark Hendrickson improved to 3-1 with the win.

The Dodgers thumped the Pirates 8-1. Rafael Furcal went 4-4, including a home run.

Mark Redman and four relievers limited the Padres to 3 hits in the Rockies 10-2 drubbing of San Diego. Garrett Atkins lead a 15-hit Rockies attack with 4 hits.

News and Notes

The Rays expect starting catcher Dionner Navarro to be back next week. Navarro has been on the DL since the first week of the season after cutting his hand in the Yankee Stadium visitor's dugout.

Tigers reliever Fernando Rodney got some good news. His arm has no structural damage and he can begin throwing in 3-5 days.

Mariners closer J.J. Putz threw a 41-pitch bullpen session yesterday, but there's still no target date for his return from a rib injury.

The Twins will have to wait longer for outfielder Michael Cuddyer's return than his scheduled Sunday eligibility date. His broken finger has been slow to heal.

Angels starter John Lackey is on schedule to be back in about 3 weeks.

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