COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT by Matt Garza: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers: August 15, 2008
Matt Garza pitched an absolute gem today with a 2-hit shutout (it should have been a 1 hitter, but the scorer was harsh on a ball that bounced off of Ruggiano's glove). He was throwing smoke early in the game (96-97 MPH) in all the right locations. The offense didn't need to do too much today, but they did deliver 4 long balls and some great hustle on the bases (especially Cliff Floyd). The only blemish on this win (6-2 on this road trip) was that Joe Maddon had to yank BJ Upton from the game for not running out a double play. It's just too bad that BJ has not gotten the message yet. Doesn't he realize that this opportunity doesn't come along everyday (just ask Carl and Johnny who've been in a Rays uniform for many years). Here is a quick and dirty summary of the game:
It's great to have Jason Bartlett back at short stop today for the first time in over a week. Mat Garza came out hot today and really found his groove in the 3rd inning with a 1 pitch pop out and 2 3-pitch strikeouts. That must have inspired Willy Aybar who hits a first pitch HOME RUN in the top of the 4th!
The Rays really opened the floodgates in the 5th inning even though Texas registered 3 strikeouts in the inning (Upton, Aybar and Riggins). Carlos Pena started things off when he smoked a slider into the right field seats for a solo HOME RUN. Cliff Floyd kept things going with a sharp line drive into the left field gap and legged out a double. Hinske then followed up with a 2-RUN BLAST to center field and Gabe Gross finished things off when he hit a FROZEN ROPE over the left field wall. So, the fifth inning featured 3 home runs and 3 strikeouts from the Rays giving them a 5-0 lead. Meanwhile, Garza continues to look very strong striking out the side in the bottom of the 5th (no hits thru 5).
Things were a little more interesting in the 6th inning when BJ Upton hit into a double play and didn't quite hustle to 1B, so Joe Maddon immediately yanked him for Justin Ruggiano. In addition, Kinsler hit a looper into center field that bounced off of Justin's glove and was ruled a hit (this probably should have been an error, in my opinion). Josh Hamilton did hit a hard single up the middle in the 7th inning, so the potential controversy from the prior inning was lessened. The Rays did add another run in the top of the 7th on the double by Cliff Floyd that scored Carlons Pena.
After a strong 8th inning from Garza and some additional insurance in the 9th inning (1 more run scored on a ground out by Eric Hinske), Garza successfully lobbied Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey to allow him to finish off the Rangers, which he did 1-2-3 (culminating in a line-drive out from Josh Hamilton).
When it was all said and done, the Rays won another road game (6-2 on this road trip) against a contender with contributions up and down the line-up. In fact, every slot in the line-up had a hit and four different guys WENT YARD. Great game Rays.
Visit ESPN for the complete box score.
It's great to have Jason Bartlett back at short stop today for the first time in over a week. Mat Garza came out hot today and really found his groove in the 3rd inning with a 1 pitch pop out and 2 3-pitch strikeouts. That must have inspired Willy Aybar who hits a first pitch HOME RUN in the top of the 4th!
The Rays really opened the floodgates in the 5th inning even though Texas registered 3 strikeouts in the inning (Upton, Aybar and Riggins). Carlos Pena started things off when he smoked a slider into the right field seats for a solo HOME RUN. Cliff Floyd kept things going with a sharp line drive into the left field gap and legged out a double. Hinske then followed up with a 2-RUN BLAST to center field and Gabe Gross finished things off when he hit a FROZEN ROPE over the left field wall. So, the fifth inning featured 3 home runs and 3 strikeouts from the Rays giving them a 5-0 lead. Meanwhile, Garza continues to look very strong striking out the side in the bottom of the 5th (no hits thru 5).
Things were a little more interesting in the 6th inning when BJ Upton hit into a double play and didn't quite hustle to 1B, so Joe Maddon immediately yanked him for Justin Ruggiano. In addition, Kinsler hit a looper into center field that bounced off of Justin's glove and was ruled a hit (this probably should have been an error, in my opinion). Josh Hamilton did hit a hard single up the middle in the 7th inning, so the potential controversy from the prior inning was lessened. The Rays did add another run in the top of the 7th on the double by Cliff Floyd that scored Carlons Pena.
After a strong 8th inning from Garza and some additional insurance in the 9th inning (1 more run scored on a ground out by Eric Hinske), Garza successfully lobbied Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey to allow him to finish off the Rangers, which he did 1-2-3 (culminating in a line-drive out from Josh Hamilton).
When it was all said and done, the Rays won another road game (6-2 on this road trip) against a contender with contributions up and down the line-up. In fact, every slot in the line-up had a hit and four different guys WENT YARD. Great game Rays.
Visit ESPN for the complete box score.
Labels: Back-to-Back Home Runs, Carlos Pena, Ciff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Matt Garza, Willy Aybar
posted by Blogging Man at
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