OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - 2004 Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Youth Brings Hope

BostonRS14 · 08-28-2004, 01:42 PM

Harden chased in 1st, Giants rout Rays
Game 57: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 14

Rich Harden's first start inside the dome in St. Petersburg made him look like just one of the guys when the Giants tagged him for seven runs on four hits and and four walks. Rich's home debut was done before most fans had actually gotten to their seats after Harden was unable to record an out before departing with the bases loaded and a five run deficit.

After a lead off walk to Ray Durham, Edgaro Alfonzo open the scoring with a double to left field. Harden pitched around Barry Bonds before Mike Lowell triples past a diving Aubrey Huff at first to score both runners. One batter later, Michael Tucker smacked a single to score Lowell from third. With runners of first and second, Pedro Felix loaded the bases with a bloop a single. Jeffrey Hammonds took a four pitch walk to force in the fifth run of the game. Pinella finally came out of the bullpen to visit his starter and decided that it was enough for Harden.

Lance carter, who has proven himself valuable ot Lou Pinella as sort of a long man out of the 'pen, relieved Harden to face Craig Counsell with the bases loaded. A fielder's choice retired Counsell, but scored Michael Tucker from third. Ray Durham followed with a single to right to score Hammonds before Edgardo Alfonzo capped the scoring with a RBI ground out to Julio Lugo. Carter stuck out Barry Bonds swining to end the inning.

The Devil Rays got one run back in the bottom of the inning when Rocco Baldelli hit a RBI-ground out to Counsell to score carl Crawford from third after he hit a one-out triple off starter Jason Schmidt. Mike Lowell took the run right back in the 2nd though, when he deposited a Lance Carter fastball into the seats in left field. He would add a two-run shot in the 3rd against Jesus Colome to earn player of the game honors with 5 runs batted in.

San Francisco Giant Jason Schmidt throws a pitch in the third inning
against the Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida.

With an eleven run lead after three, Jason Schmidt turned on the cruise control and effortlessly worked into the eight inning before giving way to Rob Nen for the final four outs. Despite surrendering 7 hits and 3 base on balls, Schmidt was able to work himself out of a few jams and ended up with only three runs scored against him.

Mike Redmond led of the bottom of the 6th with a walk, and after a pair of fielder's choices, Rocco Baldelli stroked a single to right tho advance Carl Crawford to third. Aubrey Huff followed with a walk to loade the bases and Geoff Blum dropped a single into shallow left field to score Crawford and Baldelli, but, before a rally got get started, Schmidt busted a fastball on the wrists of Fred McGriff, enducing a weak groundout to the first baseman Lance Niekro to end the threat.

One good piece of news did escape the stadium for the Devil Rays. After bashing the team in the local papers, Barry Bonds started the series hitless in 5 atbats with a walk and 4 strikouts.

W: Jason Schmidt (4-3, 3.53); L: Rich Harden (3-4, 4.26)
Player of the Game: Mike Lowell. 3-5, 2 HRs (10), 3 Runs, 5 RBIs (31)

Giants put Rays alone in the East cellar with easy win
Game 58: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 11

After spotting the Giants an eight run lead the previous day, the Rays decided to lose this one later in the game, actually giving the almost 9 thousand in attendance a little hope. Despite not taking a lead for the second consecutive night, the Devil Rays were in the game until a three-run fifth proved to be enough for the Giants to cruise to their third straight victory.

Trailing 2-0 after a Pedro Felix two-run double in the top of the 2nd, Tampa Bay tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Julio Lugo took a controversial ball of his leg to force home the first run. Felipe Alou immediately joined his catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, in protesting Lugo's apparent lack of avoidance of the pitch from starter Jerome Williams. After a brief discussion with the other umpires, crew chief and home plate ump Tim McClellan awarded Lugo first base.
Mike Redmond followed the dispute with a sacrifice fly to right-center to tie the game before Alex Sanchez ran his hitless streak with the Rays to seven, when he struck out looking to end the inning.

San Francisco responded in the next half inning with a two-run double by Pierzynski to back the lead. The second run, scored by Mike Lowell from first, proved to be the game winner off Jeff Suppan. The devil Rays got on back in the bottom of the 3rd after Rocco Baldelli advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored easily when Aubrey Huff smacked a clean single through the hole on the right side of the infield.

San Francisco put the game away in the 5th when Pierzynski, Michael Tucker and Jeffrey Hammonds all hit RBI doubles to chase Suppan. The Giants added two unearned runs off Lance Carter in the 7th after Julio Lugo's sixth error at short this season. Al Reyes, fresh off losing his closer position, looked uncomfortable working the final inning and two-thirds, surrendering two runs on three hits.

W: Jerome Williams (6-3, 3.69); L: Jeff Suppan (2-8, 5.94)
Player of the Game: A.J. Pierzynski. 4-5, 2 2Bs (16), 3 Runs, 3 RBIs (38)
Game Notes: A.J. Pierzynski extends his hitting streak to a career high 12 games!

Giants shut out Rays to sweep series
Game 59: Tampa Bay 0, San Francisco 3

After a disasterious three game series in which nothing went right, the Devil Rays have to be pleased that the Giants are gone. On top of being swept and outscored 28-6, the Giants put the Rays back into basement as the Orioles swept the Diamondbacks in their three game matchup. Luckily, the Giants now move onto Camden Yards to meet the O's in a weekend series.

Thirty-one year old journeyman Jim Brower continued his unexpected run with seven shutout innings against the Rays. After only five starts the previous two seasons between San Francisco, Montreal and Cincinnati, Brower has put up an astounding 6-0 record in 13 starts with the Giants this season. He leads the National League with a 2.18 ERA and is looking like a contendor for an All Star position next month.

Todd Ritchie, who continues to struggle for wins despite decent starts, was the unfortunate loser, surrendering two runs on nine hits over six and a third innings. Todd took a shutout into the 7th before loading the bases with only one out. Ater a 114 pithes, Lou Pinella brought in Jesus Colome to try and work out of the jam. Unfortunately, Colome surrendered a single to the first batter he faced, catcher Yorvit Torrealba, scoring two of the inherited runners. Pedro Feliz lined into a double play to end the inning, but the damage was done and Brower was given all the support he needed.

San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds tosses his bat after
striking out for the third time against Todd Ritchie to end
the 6th inning with a runner on third

The Giants added an insurance run in the ninth after Julio Lugo booted an inning ending ground ball. With an extra out, Pedro Feliz slapped a single up the middle to drive home Michael Lowell with the third and final run of the game.

W: Jim Brower (6-0, 2.18); L: Todd Ritchie (1-5, 4.96); SV: Matt Herges (16, 2.68)
Player of the Game: Jim Brower. 7 IP, 5 Hits, 0 Runs, 5 K's, 87 PI.

08-28-2004, 01:42 PM	#80
BostonRS14 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston Posts: 1,029	Harden chased in 1st, Giants rout Rays Game 57: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 14 Rich Harden's first start inside the dome in St. Petersburg made him look like just one of the guys when the Giants tagged him for seven runs on four hits and and four walks. Rich's home debut was done before most fans had actually gotten to their seats after Harden was unable to record an out before departing with the bases loaded and a five run deficit. After a lead off walk to Ray Durham, Edgaro Alfonzo open the scoring with a double to left field. Harden pitched around Barry Bonds before Mike Lowell triples past a diving Aubrey Huff at first to score both runners. One batter later, Michael Tucker smacked a single to score Lowell from third. With runners of first and second, Pedro Felix loaded the bases with a bloop a single. Jeffrey Hammonds took a four pitch walk to force in the fifth run of the game. Pinella finally came out of the bullpen to visit his starter and decided that it was enough for Harden. Lance carter, who has proven himself valuable ot Lou Pinella as sort of a long man out of the 'pen, relieved Harden to face Craig Counsell with the bases loaded. A fielder's choice retired Counsell, but scored Michael Tucker from third. Ray Durham followed with a single to right to score Hammonds before Edgardo Alfonzo capped the scoring with a RBI ground out to Julio Lugo. Carter stuck out Barry Bonds swining to end the inning. The Devil Rays got one run back in the bottom of the inning when Rocco Baldelli hit a RBI-ground out to Counsell to score carl Crawford from third after he hit a one-out triple off starter Jason Schmidt. Mike Lowell took the run right back in the 2nd though, when he deposited a Lance Carter fastball into the seats in left field. He would add a two-run shot in the 3rd against Jesus Colome to earn player of the game honors with 5 runs batted in. San Francisco Giant Jason Schmidt throws a pitch in the third inning against the Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida. With an eleven run lead after three, Jason Schmidt turned on the cruise control and effortlessly worked into the eight inning before giving way to Rob Nen for the final four outs. Despite surrendering 7 hits and 3 base on balls, Schmidt was able to work himself out of a few jams and ended up with only three runs scored against him. Mike Redmond led of the bottom of the 6th with a walk, and after a pair of fielder's choices, Rocco Baldelli stroked a single to right tho advance Carl Crawford to third. Aubrey Huff followed with a walk to loade the bases and Geoff Blum dropped a single into shallow left field to score Crawford and Baldelli, but, before a rally got get started, Schmidt busted a fastball on the wrists of Fred McGriff, enducing a weak groundout to the first baseman Lance Niekro to end the threat. One good piece of news did escape the stadium for the Devil Rays. After bashing the team in the local papers, Barry Bonds started the series hitless in 5 atbats with a walk and 4 strikouts. W: Jason Schmidt (4-3, 3.53); L: Rich Harden (3-4, 4.26) Player of the Game: Mike Lowell. 3-5, 2 HRs (10), 3 Runs, 5 RBIs (31) Giants put Rays alone in the East cellar with easy win Game 58: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 11 After spotting the Giants an eight run lead the previous day, the Rays decided to lose this one later in the game, actually giving the almost 9 thousand in attendance a little hope. Despite not taking a lead for the second consecutive night, the Devil Rays were in the game until a three-run fifth proved to be enough for the Giants to cruise to their third straight victory. Trailing 2-0 after a Pedro Felix two-run double in the top of the 2nd, Tampa Bay tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Julio Lugo took a controversial ball of his leg to force home the first run. Felipe Alou immediately joined his catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, in protesting Lugo's apparent lack of avoidance of the pitch from starter Jerome Williams. After a brief discussion with the other umpires, crew chief and home plate ump Tim McClellan awarded Lugo first base. Mike Redmond followed the dispute with a sacrifice fly to right-center to tie the game before Alex Sanchez ran his hitless streak with the Rays to seven, when he struck out looking to end the inning. San Francisco responded in the next half inning with a two-run double by Pierzynski to back the lead. The second run, scored by Mike Lowell from first, proved to be the game winner off Jeff Suppan. The devil Rays got on back in the bottom of the 3rd after Rocco Baldelli advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored easily when Aubrey Huff smacked a clean single through the hole on the right side of the infield. San Francisco put the game away in the 5th when Pierzynski, Michael Tucker and Jeffrey Hammonds all hit RBI doubles to chase Suppan. The Giants added two unearned runs off Lance Carter in the 7th after Julio Lugo's sixth error at short this season. Al Reyes, fresh off losing his closer position, looked uncomfortable working the final inning and two-thirds, surrendering two runs on three hits. W: Jerome Williams (6-3, 3.69); L: Jeff Suppan (2-8, 5.94) Player of the Game: A.J. Pierzynski. 4-5, 2 2Bs (16), 3 Runs, 3 RBIs (38) Game Notes: A.J. Pierzynski extends his hitting streak to a career high 12 games! Giants shut out Rays to sweep series Game 59: Tampa Bay 0, San Francisco 3 After a disasterious three game series in which nothing went right, the Devil Rays have to be pleased that the Giants are gone. On top of being swept and outscored 28-6, the Giants put the Rays back into basement as the Orioles swept the Diamondbacks in their three game matchup. Luckily, the Giants now move onto Camden Yards to meet the O's in a weekend series. Thirty-one year old journeyman Jim Brower continued his unexpected run with seven shutout innings against the Rays. After only five starts the previous two seasons between San Francisco, Montreal and Cincinnati, Brower has put up an astounding 6-0 record in 13 starts with the Giants this season. He leads the National League with a 2.18 ERA and is looking like a contendor for an All Star position next month. Todd Ritchie, who continues to struggle for wins despite decent starts, was the unfortunate loser, surrendering two runs on nine hits over six and a third innings. Todd took a shutout into the 7th before loading the bases with only one out. Ater a 114 pithes, Lou Pinella brought in Jesus Colome to try and work out of the jam. Unfortunately, Colome surrendered a single to the first batter he faced, catcher Yorvit Torrealba, scoring two of the inherited runners. Pedro Feliz lined into a double play to end the inning, but the damage was done and Brower was given all the support he needed. San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds tosses his bat after striking out for the third time against Todd Ritchie to end the 6th inning with a runner on third The Giants added an insurance run in the ninth after Julio Lugo booted an inning ending ground ball. With an extra out, Pedro Feliz slapped a single up the middle to drive home Michael Lowell with the third and final run of the game. W: Jim Brower (6-0, 2.18); L: Todd Ritchie (1-5, 4.96); SV: Matt Herges (16, 2.68) Player of the Game: Jim Brower. 7 IP, 5 Hits, 0 Runs, 5 K's, 87 PI.