|
|
|
|
 |
|
Scores Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries: AL | NL Players Weekly Lineup Message Board Minor Leagues MLB Stat Search Clubhouses |
| Sport Sections |
|
|
| |
Thursday, Jun. 15 7:15pm ET
Rays top Angels with another last-bat attack | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- These ninth-inning rallies are habit forming. Russ Johnson singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and Steve Trachsel pitched his second complete game of the season as the Devil Rays beat the Anaheim Angels 2-1 Thursday night. "It's fun," Trachsel said after the Devil Rays' beat the Angels in their final at-bat for the second straight day. "But we definitely don't want to make a habit of it." On Wednesday, Fred McGriff hit a two-homer in a three-run ninth as the Devil Rays beat Anaheim 3-2. "These last two games have been clutch, and that's what you want," said Johnson, acquired from Houston on May 27. "They had a snowball going here for a while ... where the losing keeps going and going and going. Now the snowball is starting to change and roll the other way." John Flaherty opened the bottom of the ninth with a single off Shigetoshi Hasegawa (5-2). Steve Cox reached on second baseman Adam Kennedy's error as pinch-runner Miguel Cairo took second. Cairo stole third when shortstop Benji Gil failed to cover the base as the Angels set up a bunt defense. "That's a big play, but the story of the game was we're not swinging the bats," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're wasting some real good efforts from our starting pitchers and that's the way it goes sometimes." Bobby Smith was walked intentionally, loading the bases with no outs. Johnson, mired in 0-for-13, then lined a 1-2 pitch over Gil's head into left-center field. "I'm just glad we won. That's the main thing," Johnson said. "It's always fun to come up in a situation like that -- that's what you always want to do if you're a baseball player. I was looking forward to the challenge." Trachsel (5-5), who pitched a six-hitter, won back-to-back decisions for the first time since consecutive 1-0 victories over Boston and the New York Yankees last month. "It's about time we got to have some fun because it's been a tough year," Trachsel said. The right-hander got a complete game win May 6 over Boston's Pedro Martinez. Five days later Trachsel (5-6) worked seven shutout innings and beat the Yankees' Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. The Devil Rays recorded back-to-back complete games for the the first time since starting play in 1998. On Wednesday, Albie Lopez went the distance for the first time in almost six years. Anaheim's Jarrod Washburn allowed one run and two hits in seven innings. He struck out four, but walked six. During his past two starts -- covering 14 innings -- the left-hander has given up two runs and seven hits. "It was a good game tonight, but Trachsel outpitched us," Washburn said. "That's saying something, to keep our offense in check." Tampa Bay's Bubba Trammell broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the sixth inning. Trammell's seventh homer of the season traveled an estimated 415 feet and struck an overhanging catwalk about 110 feet above the playing surface. The Angels tied it 1-1 on Troy Glaus' run-scoring groundout in the seventh. The Angels failed to capitalize on scoring chances in the third and fourth innings. Darin Erstad was thrown out by right fielder Jose Guillen when he tried to score from second on Scott Spiezio's two-out single in the third. Although Erstad appeared safe on TV replays, Scioscia did not blame the call by umpire Mark Wegner for the loss. "I thought he missed the call. We don't hang our hat on umpires' calls," Scioscia said. "We didn't swing the bats. We're not going to pin this loss on an umpire's call. If you're going to be a championship caliber club, you overcome bad breaks." In the fourth, Mo Vaughn was left stranded after a leadoff double. Despite five walks, the only Tampa Bay player to reach second through five innings was Smith. His two-out double in the second was the only hit by the Devil Rays over the first five innings. Game notesTampa Bay has won three straight series for the first time since last August and has won 7 of 10. ... Devil Rays LF Greg Vaughn was a late scratch with soreness in his right hamstring. He aggravated a previous injury Wednesday night. ... Angels CF Garret Anderson snapped an 0-for-13 slump with a seventh-inning double. ... Trachsel made his 200th career start. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Anaheim Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 12 NY Yankees 3
Tampa Bay 2
| |||||