Rays beat Yanks, take over 1st place

Manager Joe Maddon said Jonny Gomes has the "green light" on the basepaths. And the hustling outfielder took advantage Tuesday night.

Gomes, pinch-running for Cliff Floyd with no outs in the 11th against the Yankees, stole second base, and then scored on a single up the middle by Gabe Gross, lifting the Rays to a dramatic, 2-1 win at the Trop, which puts them in sole possession of first place in the AL East.

The Rays (23-16) have now won 11 straight home games, and moved .5 game ahead of the Red Sox (24-18), who lost to Baltimore Tuesday night.

RHP Edwin Jackson delivered another spectacular start, throwing seven shutout innings against the Yankees - pushing his scoreless streak to 15 frames. He handed a 1-0 lead (thanks to an Eric Hinske RBI single) to the Rays typically trusty bullpen, but veteran closer Troy Percival gave up a solo homer to Hideki Matsui in the top of the ninth.

The win came in front of 16,558 heavily Rays-partisan fans.

The Rays take their five-game winning streak into play tonight again against the Yankees.
INF Ben Zobrist was activated and will go right back into the super-utility role the Rays envisioned for him in the spring before he fractured his left thumb. That means he could be used at any of the four infield positions as well as in the outfield. Manager Joe Maddon even went so far as to say that he would consider starting Zobrist in rightfield against a lefthander - with Jonny Gomes as the DH.

Rocco Baldelli went through an extensive workout and said he was still seeking medical help to get past the muscle fatigue problems that have sidelined him, but that he still hopes to return to the field.
"I'm hitting BP, I'm throwing and stuff, it just depends on if I'm going to be able to do it every day,'' Baldelli said. "But as of now I feel real good.''

A decision on activating RHP Al Reyes had not been made as of 6 p.m., so it sounds like it will be after the game at the earliest. RHP Scott Dohmann seems most likely to go.

As for tonight's lineups:

Rays
Iwamura, 2b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Floyd, dh
Hinske, rf
Navarro, c
Bartlett, ss
Jackson, rhp

Yankees
Damon, dh
Jeter, ss
Abreu, rf
Matsui, lf
Giambi, 1b
Cabrera, cf
Cano, 2b
Gonzalez, 3b
Molina, c
Wang, rhp

Comments

[Tim]

Gotta LOVE all these rabid Rays fans I am seeing in the stands...wow, all these Tampa Bay reds, browns, blacks and purple. So many DIEHARD fans with not one ounce of Rays team gear!!

Goober Bay USA!

[Jimmy Mack]

I'm definitely with you, Tim. I am more concerned with packing the stands instead of buying the gear, but it all comes down to supporting the team. They are playing some great ball now, and attendance problems are not acceptable. They are beating the Yankees! We should be pounding that stadium into the ground with all the noise! Went last night and was depressed at the lack of support for a team that is able to run with the big dogs. We need to start acting like we deserve the caliber of baseball team that we have this year...

[Paul]

RAYS WIN!!! FIRST PLACE IN AL EAST, BEST RECORD IN AL!!!

Ok, now all the fairweather fans can come out of the woodwork - we welcome you!!!!

[Mikey]

Rays magic number for clinching the division: 123

Go Rays!

[trent]

Mikey

"Rays magic number for clinching the division: 123

Go Rays!"

lol baseball season is so long

[the 6-4-3]

This is awesome, well worth the 10 years I have waited to feel like this about our team!
Rays blog:
http://the6-4-3.mlblogs.com/

[sevenyearhawk]

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG ...

RAYS WIN, RAYS WIN!!!!!!!

If the Blue Jays could just eek out one more win, the "vaunted" Yankee$ would be in DEAD LAST!!

As someone who became a Rays fan the moment I moved to St. Pete in 2001, and has remained one despite having left in 2004 - this is AWESOME!!

People once laughed at me for wearing a Rays cap to Wrigley Field ... it was like wearing flipflops into the Vatican, they said!

HOO-RAYS, KEEP SPANKING THE YANKEE$!!!!

[Sal]

You have to give it some time , you can't expect people to pack the stands immediately. It takes time to build the fanbase after 10 seasons of losing.

[Mike Meagan]

Ditto Hawk. I moved from Sarasota/Bradenton last year and it was tough here in Orange County, CA (Angels - ville). "hi, I'm Mike. Devil Rays Fan"

No More!

1st? Over the Yankee$ ???

LETS GO RAYS!!!

LET ALL THE AL HEAR; MORE COWBELL!!

[Murf]

Goes to show you that Yankee fans are fair weather fans as anyone. If they were in first place there would have been 20,000 Yankee fans in the trop. When the Tampa Bay area wakes up to the success the Rays are having, hopefully Rays fans will fill the Trop. If not, this area does not deserve a major league team. In the meantime, LETS GO RAYS!!!!

[Andy]

Murf,

Ask anyone who went to the game tonight. For the first time I can remember for a Yanks game, the HOME fans outnumbered the away fans...It's a start, and if they keep winning, the trend will continue.

[Mark]

Remember 2004?

The Rays had a 12-game winning streak, were 3 games over .500 at one point, and the fans filled the stands when they were at home, being that the winning streak took place on the road for the majority of the games.

Give it time. For people like me who live too far out of the area, and with the higher gas prices these days, you have to wait for us.

This entire franchise's history has been based on waiting. The wins are coming, and that's what we've waited on.

Now we have to wait on the fans.

Just be thankful that it's not a sold out game because 20,000 Yankee fans pack the Trop.

I was hearing the Cowbell Kid, and the horns all night in Right Field, with the "Yankees Suck" chants, and the "Sterrrroids" chants to Giambi.

This is not a good state to get fresh baseball fans. Too many retirees here who were brought up on Northern based teams.

There is no doubt in my mind that the home atmosphere will be better as long as they keep winning. Cocky perhaps, and maybe even harsh with the language if any opposing fans want to get into a shouting match, but a better home atmosphere, nonetheless.

Give me free gas and a job at the stadium, and I'll be there everyday bringing the passion I had watching Jonny cross the plate, lol.

Definitely a good win if you're a Magic fan wanting to forget what happened just about an hour before...

"And the Tigers are... where? Yep, that's what I thought! Below the RAYS!!!!"

[Bert]

I moved down here from CT in 1991. In CT you were either a Spankees fan or a Dead Sox fan. I suffered with the other baseball fans in the area as we were used by other teams as a bargaining chip to get new stadiums built, and I was there for the celebration when MLB finally awarded us the Rays.

I've sat through some horrible games and a few (damned few) inspiring games, but I never gave up hope. I've listened to crap from my brother that still lives in CT, and bit my tongue, all the while thinking "it's gonna happen".

Want to guess who my first phone call went to tonight?

Just keep in mind people, there's still a whole lot of season left to play this year!

Get out to the Trop! Cheer until you're hoarse. Most importantly, don't give up on them! I seriously doubt that they'll stay in first place for very long. It takes a few years to build a team that consistently stays in first place, and I don't think the Rays are at that point yet, but they're damned sure getting there!

One final thought: Many kudos to the management group that's finally working to build and keep together a winning team!

[Ryan]

HIP HIP HOOOOOOO RAAAAYYYYYYSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

Get out to the Trop. {hopefully while you still can : ) }

[Jim Harper]

What I loved best about attending tonight's game was how many KNOWLEDGEABLE, not just partisan, Rays fans were in the stands.

When Edwin Jackson had to worry about Derek Jeter on third with one out in the sixth, many fans knew Jackson could use some encouragement. With all that cheering behind him, Jackson didn't flinch; he got the next two outs, and three more in the seventh to preserve his shut-out.

We long-struggling Rays fans and players are like a family. We know each other's weaknesses, and when we succeed together it is all the sweeter!

[Hawkeye]

Just too bad EJack hasn't gotten wins in his past 2 games. But, he's coming around and I'm pleasantly surprised and he's making a believer in me.

Keep it up Ed(win)!

[Jesse]

Andy great point, I was there last night and every time the Skankee fans would start a cheer, we would drown it out with our cowbell or are chants!! Yanks fans are def not coming out like they used to because they know theie 200 million dollar payroll is deflated and the Rays are a team to be reckon with..Might I add the RAYS are 9-1 when I attend their games with my half season tix!!! Only game I saw a loss was the season opener...It was a beautiful thing to see the standings on the scoreboard at the trop last night with us in 1st.....

[jeff]

I Lived through the "last to First" '91 Twins. We can do it here too.
FIND A WAY - RAYS!!

[itwill]

It will happen. Give it time. School is still going strong, the ecomony and money is tight........I bet the TV ratings are HUGE right now. Everyone is talking about the Rays.....so, just give it a little time.....it will happen.

[it sure will]

I can't wipe the smile off my face I'm so giddy. Keep the mojo & karma going Rays b/c the fans are starting to feel it & believe. More cowbell!

Way to go Rays fan, continue to step up and show the support all acroos the country(on West coast, in Chi-town, CT, where ever), and thanks-a-million for representing.

Go Rays & playoffs here we come.

I'm going to tonight & Thurs. games, can't barely wait.

How about another sweep in Broomburg, Fla, USA

[dick holt]

Why did Maddon have Miller warming up with 4 lefties coming up in the 9th and not use him?? Realize Percival is "his" closer but he should have used a lefty in the 9th against the Yankee left handed batters. The reasons for low attendance are numerous but NO part of Florida is a baseball area and never will be, regardless the product on the field. The market at this time of the year is up north. People continually say it's a football town and should be a baseball town. Football is short term and only 8 home games while baseball is long term and 81 home games. Local TV is great but DOES keep many fans from attending, due to high cost of gas. I firmly believe if the Rays were in 1st place deep into the season,the attendance would not improve much.

[agree]

I agree about the lefty thing. I thought he should have brought Miller in for at least the first lefty....if he gets him out, leave him in until(or if) he gives up a hit, then bring in Percival.

Also, another bad move was not having CC attempt a steal in the 10th inning......ever. Who cares who is at the plate......he has to try and get to 2nd base in that situation.

[josh]

Writers can talk and talk about Gomes' "hustle" to steal 2nd and score on a single, but the fatc is, he nearly ran us out of that inning. He got such a horrible break and was running poorly, but a bad throw bailed him out. I would MUCH rather see Carl taking 2nd in the 10th than Gomes in 11th

[Ray F]

Josh:
I agree about CC in the 10th... bad move there, but, Molina is there back-up catcher and a bad one at that. Gomes went on a hit and run attempt. Gross swung the bat and got in Molina's eyeline to force a bad throw. Anyone who knows more than an ounce of baseball knows that it was a perfectly executed situation. I think Gomes has got to be right behind CC as the fan favorite. Nobody has EVER brought more energy to the Trop than Gomes. I heard him on The Bubba the Love Sponge show this morning and he sounds like a great guy. I'm happy for him and the whole Rays team. Even if we drop to the cellar in the next week, it signed me up for season tickets for next year. Go Rays!

[Jeff Gilbert]

Why would you 2nd guess Maddon, Dick? Because you are such a baseball expert, Dick? It is so easy to sit back and run your yap, especially when you are a Cynical Dick. No one will show up, so we shouldn't build the new Stadium... somebody pass the Geritol, my hip aches.

[dick]

For Jeff---the question of the day is why people aren't showing up. So, the majority of us have attempted to respond to that. After all, they aren't showing up, are they Jeff? Are they showing up in Miami, where their team is also in 1st place? Check their attendance stats and you will see that baseball hasn't done well in Florida, EVER. As for Maddon not using Miller, absolutely I question it as would most informed fans who watch the game on a regular basis, especially with only a one run lead and three left handed hitting power hitters due up. If your hip aches, walk to the trop tonight..