J.P. Out At The Ballgame
Los Angeles Angels vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Monday, August 18, 2008
This is Jason Pafundi reporting for Baseball Digest Daily live at Tropicana Field in
Starting Pitchers
TB: Andy Sonnanstine (12-6, 4.35)
LAA: Jon Garland (11-7, 4.26)
Pre-Game Notes
- Former Rays pitcher Al Reyes rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham and was released
- Rays 3B Evan Longoria said his fractured wrist is feeling better, and he’ll have another extra Friday to check on its process. His return date is still unknown. Closer Troy Percival opted not to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which should speed up his recovery
- The Angels have the best record in baseball (19-8) since the All-Star break; The Rays are second at 20-9
- As of game time, Tuesday’s game will be played as scheduled. Rays president Matt Silverman said the team would continue to monitor Tropical Storm Fay throughout the day Tuesday, and if needed, a doubleheader would be played on Wednesday
- The Rays have 29 games remaining against teams with a .500 record or better
Top of the 1st
The threat of a tropical storm in the Tampa Bay area must be keeping people home. This crowd is very light, which is a shame since these are two first-place teams. After two quick groundouts, 1B Mark Teixeira walks. RF Vladimir Guerrero grounds out to second to end the inning. Andy Sonnanstine threw 18 pitches. 0-0
Bottom of the 1st
After 2B Aki Iwamura grounded to first, CF BJ Upton, playing in his second-straight game after being benched on Saturday for a lack of hustle, singled sharply to center. 1B Carlos Pena strikes out swinging on a fastball inside. DH Cliff Floyd grounds out to second to end the inning. Jon Garland threw 13 pitches. 0-0
Top of the 2nd
Sonnanstine gets CF Torii Hunter to strike out swinging to start the second. DH Garrett Anderson pops to shortstop Jason Bartlett for the second out. 2B Howie Kendrick grounds out to end the frame. Sonnanstine has thrown 31 pitches. 0-0
Bottom of the 2nd
3B Willy Aybar singled to left to lead off the first. LF Eric Hinske hits a two-run homer to right-center, his 19th of the season. C Dioner Navarro grounded to second, and RF Gabe Gross lined to left field. SS Jason Bartlett strikes out swinging to end the inning. Garland has thrown 35 pitches through two innings. 2-0 Rays
Top of the 3rd
LF Juan Rivera leads off the inning with a bomb to left center. C Mike Napoli pops to short and 3B Chone Figgins grounds to second. SS Erick Aybar grounds to his counterpart to end the inning. Sonnanstine recovers nicely after the leadoff homer. He has thrown 46 pitches through three innings. 2-1 Rays
Bottom of the 3rd
Iwamura walks to lead off for the Rays. Upton bounces slowly to third, allowing Iwamura to advance to second with one out. Pena grounds to third, advancing Iwamura. Floyd follows with a laser beam over the wall in right, giving the Rays their second two-run homer of the night. It was Floyd’s ninth of the season. Aybar singles to right with two outs. Hinske lines a single to right that gets “Bucknered” by Guerrero, rolling all the way to the wall. Aybar scores and Hinske ends up at third. Navarro grounds out to second to end the inning. Garland has thrown 58 pitches through three innings. 5-1 Rays
Top of the 4th
Teixeira pops to second to lead off the inning. Guerrero rips a single to left with one out. Hunter hits a would-be double-play ball to second, but Iwamura boots it. Everybody’s safe with one out. Anderson flies to left for the second out of the inning. Kendrick singles to load the bases, but Rivera grounds to second to end the inning. Sonnanstine has thrown 69 pitches through four innings. 5-1 Rays
Bottom of the 4th
Gross pops to center to lead off the inning. After Bartlett walked, Iwamura grounded into a fielder’s choice. Upton hits one off the fence in left field, but is tagged out at second. Upton was noticeably jogging around first and was running next to Teixeira, who applied the tag just as Upton reached the base. Garland has thrown 70 pitches through four innings. 5-1 Rays
Top of the 5th
Napoli strikes out looking to lead off the fifth. Figgins strikes out swinging, the third strikeout of the game for Sonnanstine. Aybar walks with two outs. Teixeira is hit by a pitch, putting two runners on with two outs. Guerrero flies to right to end the inning. Sonnanstine has thrown 92 pitches through five innings. 5-1 Rays
Bottom of the 5th
Pena leads off the inning with a sharp liner down the first base line, but Teixeira makes a nice play lunging to catch it. Floyd hits a liner down the first base line that Teixeira makes a diving play, but his backhanded flip to first sailed over Garland’s head. Aybar singles to left, putting runners on first and second with one out. The Angels have action in their bullpen (Shane Loux). Hinske gets called on a check-swing third strike for the second out. Navarro grounds out 6-4 to end the inning. Garland has thrown 86 pitches through five innings. 5-1 Rays
Top of the 6th
Hunter singles to left to lead off the inning. RHP Grant Balfour is now warming up in the Rays bullpen. Local media seem to think that Balfour is the best candidate on the Rays to close games in the absence of Troy Percival, so it’s curious to see him throwing so early in the game. Anderson doubles to the gap in left center, scoring Hunter. Anderson now has a 21-game hitting streak. Kendrick hits a sacrifice fly to left, advancing Anderson to third with one out. Balfour into the game, replacing Sonnanstine. Rivera hits a sac fly that scores Anderson. Napoli strikes out swinging to end the inning. 5-3 Rays
Bottom of the 6th
Gross leads off with a fly out to center. Bartlett slaps one off the glove of Garland, who can’t make a play. Iwamura flies to center for the second out. Upton was booed, and rightfully so. There is no excuse for his lack of hustle, and it’s even more mind-boggling when you consider he was benched on Saturday for the same thing. Upton grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. 5-3 Rays
Top of the 7th
Figgins strikes out to start the seventh. Aybar singles to left with one out. Teixeira fouls to third for the second out. Aybar advances to second on a wild pitch by Balfour. Guerrero singles to right, scoring Aybar. Submariner Chad Bradford into the game to replace Balfour. Hunter grounds out to third to end the inning. 5-4 Rays
Bottom of the 7th
Loux replaces Garland for the Angels. Floyd is hit by a pitch with one out. Aybar grounds into a double play to end the inning. 5-4 Rays
Top of the 8th
Trevor Miller is into the game for the Rays. Anderson strikes out swinging to lead off the inning. Jason Hammel is now in for the Rays, their fifth pitcher of the night. Kendrick walks with one out. Rivera grounds into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Pena made a great pick at first. The PR staff announced the crowd of just under 16,000, but it didn’t look like that many from the press box. 5-4 Rays
Bottom of the 8th
Justin Ruggiano, who replaced Hinske is leftfield, singled to lead off the inning. Navarro sacrificed Ruggiano to second with one out. Gross singled to center, scoring a big insurance run. Bartlett hits a soft liner to short for the second out. Iwamura singles to left, putting runners at first and second with two outs. Upton grounds out to third to end the inning. 6-4 Rays
Top of the 9th
Dan Wheeler is in to try and close the game for the Rays. Pinch hitter Kendry Morales popped to left for the first out of the ninth. Figgins strikes out swinging for the second out. Aybar flies to left to end the game. 6-4 Rays
WP: Sonnanstine (13-6)
LP: Garland (11-8)
S: Wheeler (6)
Time of Game: 3 hours 5 minutes
Attendance: 15,896
Post-Game Notes
- The Rays now have the best record in baseball since the All-Star break (21-9), and they are on pace to win 99 games
- Rays manager Joe Maddon said CF BJ Upton will be in the lineup tomorrow despite his base running error in the fourth inning
