J.P. Out At The Ballgame
Los Angeles Angels vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
This is Jason Pafundi reporting for Baseball Digest Daily live at Tropicana Field in
Starting Pitchers
TB: James Shields (10-7, 3.75)
LAA: Ervin Santana (13-5, 3.49)
Pre-Game Notes
- Angels infielder Maicer Izturis underwent season-ending surgery today on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb
- The Rays are a franchise-record 28 games over .500; they had never been more than four games over .500 in the history of the franchise before this season
- Rays starter James Shields has only one win in his last four starts (Aug. 8 @ Seattle)
Top of the 1st
With schools in Pinellas County being closed today because of the threat of Tropical Storm Fay, tomorrow (Wednesday) is the first day of school. Let’s hope that is the reason the stands at the Trop are sparse. 3B Chone Figgins led off the game with a walk. SS Erick Aybar hit a soft liner that Rays SS Jason Bartlett jumped and caught. Figgins was too far toward second and was doubled-up at first. RF Gabe Gross robbed 1B Mark Teixeira of a home run with a leaping catch. That was certainly an interesting way to get three outs. Shields threw 11 pitches. 0-0
Bottom of the 1st
2B Aki Iwamura popped out in foul territory to catcher Jeff Mathis to start the inning. There wasn’t a real noticeable amount of boos for CF BJ Upton, who apologized for his base running gaffe in Monday’s game. He might want to also apologize for striking out on three pitches. 1B Carlos Pena struck out swinging to end the inning. Santana threw 16 pitches. 0-0
Top of the 2nd
DH Vladimir Guerrero leads off the inning with a tomahawked homer to the opposite field, his 23rd of the season. CF Torii Hunter singles to center. The Angels are hitting the ball very hard so far tonight. LF Garrett Anderson strikes out swinging for the first out. Another hard-hit ball up the middle for a base hit by 2B Howie Kendrick. Two men on with only one out. The Angels are 53-9 this season when scoring the first run. RF Juan Rivera singles up the middle, but a laser beam from Upton nails Hunter at the plate for the second out. Shields gets Mathis swinging to end the inning. He has thrown 34 pitches through two innings. 1-0 Angels
Bottom of the 2nd
Santana strikes out the side in a very uneventful bottom half of the second for the Rays. He has thrown 31 pitches through two innings. 1-0 Rays
Top of the 3rd
Figgins grounds out to second to start the inning, and Aybar flies to right. Teixeira strikes out to make it a quick top of the third for Shields. He has thrown 43 pitches through three innings. 1-0 Angels
Bottom of the 3rd
C Dioner Navarro grounds out to second to start off the third. Gross flies deep down the left field line for the second out. Bartlett grounds out to third to end the inning. Santana has thrown 41 pitches through three innings, and the Rays haven’t come close to a base hit yet tonight. 1-0 Angels
Top of the 4th
Guerrero leads off with a ground-rule double to dead center. He advances to third on a groundout by Hunter. Anderson rips a double down the first base line, scoring Guerrero. Anderson now has a 22-game hitting streak. Kendrick strikes out swinging for the second out. Rivera grounds out to short to end the inning. Shields has thrown 53 pitches through four innings. 2-0 Angels
Bottom of the 4th
Iwamura grounds out to short to lead off the inning. It looks like tough goings tonight against Santana. Upton strikes out swinging for the second out of the inning. Pena walks with two outs, the first base runner for the Rays. Floyd goes down swinging to end the inning. Santana has thrown 70 pitches through four innings. 2-0 Rays
Top of the 5th
Mathis strikes out swinging to start the fifth, and Figgins is called out for Shield’s sixth “K” of the night. Teixeira lines out to right field to end the inning. Shields has thrown 72 pitches through five innings. 2-0 Angels
Bottom of the 5th
Aybar grounds out to start the fifth, and Hinske flies to right for the second out. Santana looks unhittable tonight. Navarro grounds out to end the inning. Six pitches for Santana that inning, and he has thrown 76 pitches through five. 2-0 Angels
Top of the 6th
Guerrero is retired for the first time with a liner to third to lead off the sixth. Hunter hits one back to Shields, who plays it off the body and throws him out at first. Anderson popped up to short to end the inning. Shields has thrown 81 pitches through six. He has done a good job of keeping the Rays within a couple of runs, but the way Santana is pitching, it might not matter. 2-0 Angels
Bottom of the 6th
Gross leads off by popping to center for the first out. Bartlett gets the first hit of the game for the Rays with a double just inside the bag at third. Iwamura singles in the hole to short, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Upton singles on a grounder to first, scoring Bartlett. The throw to first got past Santana, but Upton was tagged out past the first base line. Maddon came out to argue and was ejected by first base umpire Jerry Meals. Pena walks to put runners on the corners with two outs. Floyd strikes out swinging to end the inning. Santana has thrown 95 pitches through six innings. 2-1 Angels
Top of the 7th
Kendrick strikes out to lead off the inning. Rivera pops to first for the second out. Mathis keeps the inning alive with a single to left, but Figgins hits into a force play 4-6 to end the inning. Shields has thrown 92 pitches through seven innings. 2-1 Angels
Bottom of the 7th
Aybar hits a liner down the line in left, but a tremendous throw from Anderson nails him at second for the first out. Hinske strikes out swinging and Navarro grounds out to end the seventh. Santana has thrown 107 pitches. 2-1 Angels
Top of the 8th
Both teams have action in the bullpen. Aybar leads off with a fly out to right field. Teixeira is hit by the pitch in his left knee. The attendance was announced as more than last night, but the fans must be hiding as blue seats. Guerrero pops to first for the second out. Hunter singles to left to put two runners on with two outs. Anderson grounds to first to end the inning. Shields has thrown 103 pitches, and his night is most likely over. 2-1 Angels
Bottom of the 8th
Veteran righty Scot Shields is now pitching for the Halos. Gross leads off with a four-pitch walk, putting the tying run aboard for the Rays. Bartlett sacrificed, but Mathis airmailed the throw to first, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. The Rays have a chance to steal this game. The infield is halfway for the Angels. Iwamura walks to load the bases for–who else– BJ Upton. What a chance he has here to make fans forget about yesterday, and maybe even his entire season of transgressions. The crowd is chanting “BJ, BJ”. Some chin music on the second pitch from Shields. The crowd is on its feet with a 3-1 count. The count is full to Upton, and the crowd is very loud. Upton strikes out looking on a pitch that he thought was ball four. Darren Oliver in replacing Shields. Pena hits one down the first base line but foul. Oliver is now behind 3-1 to Pena. Fastball for a swinging strike, and the count is full. Pena walks to tie the game. The bases are still loaded with only one out. Floyd strikes out swinging for the second out. That is the dreaded Golden Sombrero for Floyd. Aybar hits a two-run single to left field, giving the Rays a 4-2 lead. Hinske strikes out to end the inning, but the damage is done. It keeps being said, but there is something special about the 2008 Rays. 4-2 Rays
Top of the 9th
Dan Wheeler is in to try and close it for the Rays. A Rays victory coupled with a loss by the Cubs would give the Rays the best record in baseball. Justin Ruggiano has replaced Hinske in left field. 7-8-9 up for the Angels. Kendrick strikes out to lead off the ninth. Rivera gets called out on strikes for the second out. Kendry Morales pinch hitting for Mathis. He flies to right to end the game. 4-2 Rays
WP: James Shields (11-7)
LP: Scot Shields (5-4)
S: Wheeler (7)
Time of Game: 2 hours 20 minutes
Attendance: 15, 902
Post-Game Notes
- The Rays, with a record of 77-48, have the best record in the American League
- Manager Joe Maddon said that the call by first base umpire Jerry Meals was inexcusable, and when the crew chief came over and agreed with Meals, it sent Maddon over the edge
