Rays tame Yankees, 9-1

Andy Sonnanstine pitched a 2-hit gem over eight innings, and Carlos Pena clocked two home runs to pace the Rays' 12-hit attack.

Every win against the Yankees is sweet, so much so that I'll tempt fate by posting about the first victory in the series despite what happened last time I did so.

Looking at the pitching matchups, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Yanks take two of three. Edwin Jackson has been pretty strong for the Rays in the second half, but I think he'll need his best stuff to keep New York's batting lineup in check. Hopefully the Rays' offense can punish the rookie pitcher the Yankees will send to the mound against Jackson.

The third game features Jason Hammel against Andy Pettite. Hammel has struggled starting in the majors after putting up good numbers in AAA ball. Pettite isn't what he used to be, but he was very effective the last time he pitched against Tampa Bay.
*****

In a grumble over ESPN coverage of the game, the sports ticker included no highlights other than the box score. One would think that Carlos Pena reaching 33 home runs while going 2 for 2 with three walks would merit mention. I'm pretty sure that every other major league game specifically highlighted the numbers of either a pitcher or a hitter. I guess they could have highlighted Alex Rodriguez's 125th RBI, too.