The Tampa Bay Devil* Rays managed a home series win against the pesky Cleveland Indians, scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to seize a 10-7 victory and the 2-1 series win. Cleveland had convincingly won its previous five matchups against the Rays.
Carlos Pena takes my series MVP award for the second straight time. Pena had 5 walks, 3 hits and 4 RBI for the series including the walk off home run in the finale. Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett receive honorable mention for good performances in the series.
Showing posts with label Carlos Pena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Pena. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Rays sweep Tigers, pace AL East
The Tampa Bay Devil* Rays continued atop the AL East division with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
The Rays overcame a dominating pitching performance by Armando Galarraga to win in 10 innings. Galarraga allowed just four hits and one earned run in 7.0 innings, but the Rays started hitting once Detroit's bullpen took over the game.
Carlos Pena gets my series MVP award because of solid defense, a key homer in the first game of the series and for drawing a walk in his 10th inning at-bat to salt away the third win over the Tigers. Pena's batting average has continued to gradually creep up toward .250 since the All-Star break after his cold-hitting start.
The Rays overcame a dominating pitching performance by Armando Galarraga to win in 10 innings. Galarraga allowed just four hits and one earned run in 7.0 innings, but the Rays started hitting once Detroit's bullpen took over the game.
Carlos Pena gets my series MVP award because of solid defense, a key homer in the first game of the series and for drawing a walk in his 10th inning at-bat to salt away the third win over the Tigers. Pena's batting average has continued to gradually creep up toward .250 since the All-Star break after his cold-hitting start.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Royal pain: Sweep escape
The Kansas City Royals eluded the four-game sweep attempt by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays* with an extra-innings victory on Monday. Royals' pitching frustrated Rays' bats as Tampa Bay consistently left men on base.
The Rays, however, won yet another home series by taking the first three games against the Royals and head up to visit the New York Yankees sitting atop the AL East with a four game lead.
Carlos Pena gets my series MVP award for the Rays, as his batting looked as good as it has all year. Pena was 6 for 17 against the Royals (.353) with 8 RBIs.
The Rays, however, won yet another home series by taking the first three games against the Royals and head up to visit the New York Yankees sitting atop the AL East with a four game lead.
Carlos Pena gets my series MVP award for the Rays, as his batting looked as good as it has all year. Pena was 6 for 17 against the Royals (.353) with 8 RBIs.
Friday, August 31, 2007
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.
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.
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