Tampa Bay Days-Growing Stars

[taiwangm]

CM Wand dominated the Rays in the 1-16 defeat.
Hitters Flourished in NYY-TB Series
May 17, 2008: TB 9 - 3 NYY
James Shields (4-3) vs. Joba Chamberlain (4-2)
Joba was easy about his role in Mogul, started 7 times and posted a 4.02 ERA so far. But he was scouted for 88-90 mph max speed---WHAT?
Never mind. It was HoustonGM's roster to blame, and we could hit him hard. He eventually pitched for 2.1 innings and surrendered 6.
Shields' changeup fooled the Yanks all six innings, before he rested in a 8-0 lead.
W: James Shields (5-3)

May 18, 2008: TB 6 - 2 NYY
Andy Sonnanstine (4-4) vs. Ian Kennedy (3-2)
Ian Kennedy collapsed in the fifth to serve four walks and a Carlos Pena homer.
The innings-eater Sonnanstine swallowed six easily, and our three consistent relievers---Wheeler, Reyes and Percival finished the last three.
W: Andy Sonnanstine (5-4)

May 19, 2008: TB 1 - 16 NYY
J.P. Howell (2-1) vs. Chien-Ming Wang(4-3)
The CMW pitched a shutout against the O's in his last start, and 8 of our 9 starting players hit into groundballs in the first round.
They scored six in the fourth and hit J.P. Howell hard. I put Gary Glover up, and he let seven score in one inning. Fine.
So I gave up on this game and noticed that our No.1 and No.2 were struggling, so I gave them some rest.
I forced Gary Glover to finish the game. He did finish it, using 83 pitches in 3 innings, allowed 10 ER.
L: J.P. Howell (2-2)

Star of the series: Carlos Pena, 4-for-10, 2 homers, 5RBI, 3 walks and 4 runs.

[taiwangm]

Speedy Carl Crawford added 5 to his steals against the Red Sox.
Crawford Stole The Bases and The Series
May 21, 2008: BOS 2 - 8 TB
Josh Beckett (3-4) vs. Edwin Jackson(4-2)
Jason Barlett was fascinating to hit his second inside-the-park homer this year and sent Beckett back to the dugout.
Jackson notched 7 strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. Bartlett had 5 RBIs this game with two homers and a triple.
W: Edwin Jackson (5-2)

May 22, 2008: BOS 1 - 4 TB
Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-2) vs. Scott Kazmir(1-1)
We had patience waiting Matsuzaka throwing balls, scoring two but cost him 126 pitches in 5.2 innings.
Kazmir had another strong start for us, throwing six scoreless innings as well as fanning six opponents.
W: Scott Kazmir (2-1)
SV: Troy Percival (15)

May 23, 2008: BOS 3 - 6 TB
Tim Wakefield (6-0) vs. James Shields (5-3)
Wakefield's slow balls and Jason Varitek's weak hands were great stealing combo.
David Ortiz's tenth homer appeared to be the first hit of both side, and it was in the fourth.
Wakefield shut us in the first four innings, but we still found some time to steal, like a double steal of Longoria and Ethier in the fifth, and both eventually scored.
Shields used too many pitches that he couldn't finish the sixth by 115 pitches used and left with bases loaded.
Tied into the eighth, Longoria singled to break the tie and Ethier added two runs, 6-3.
W: Trever Miller (3-0)
SV: Troy Percival (16)

Star of the series: Carl Crawford went 4-for-11, walked 3 times, adding a triple and five steals over this series. (Thanks Varitek)

[taiwangm]

May Review
Rays: 39-16 (.709 wpct) First Place
May: 20-7 (.741 wpct)

AL East:
TBR 39-16
NYY 34-22, 5.5GB
TOR 32-22, 6.5GB
BOS 31-23, 7.5GB
BAL 21-36, 19GB

Batting:

First	Last	G	AVG	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS	R	RBI	SLG	OBP	OPS
Evan	Longoria55	0.300	213	64	12	2	6	19	49	11	5	27	33	0.460	0.363	0.823
Jason	Bartlett55	0.277	191	53	12	5	6	12	26	10	8	28	28	0.487	0.330	0.817
Akinori	Iwamura	54	0.302	215	65	8	2	7	28	41	11	1	37	38	0.456	0.383	0.839
B.J.	Upton	53	0.234	218	51	7	5	6	19	51	14	8	34	28	0.394	0.298	0.692
Andre	Ethier	53	0.368	193	71	19	4	6	14	27	1	2	27	34	0.601	0.419	1.020
Jonny	Gomes	52	0.221	163	36	2	1	14	16	43	5	0	33	32	0.503	0.298	0.801
Carl	Crawford51	0.306	209	64	17	5	4	11	30	20	7	38	26	0.493	0.350	0.843
Carlos	Pena	49	0.284	183	52	5	1	9	27	47	0	1	31	32	0.470	0.382	0.852
Dioner	Navarro	48	0.261	165	43	5	1	2	13	21	1	0	19	20	0.339	0.315	0.654
Willy	Aybar	35	0.254	59	15	2	1	0	9	13	2	1	9	5	0.322	0.353	0.675
Eric	Hinske	33	0.164	55	9	0	1	2	2	16	0	0	5	6	0.309	0.193	0.502
Shawn	Riggans	30	0.148	27	4	0	0	0	1	6	0	0	0	4	0.148	0.207	0.355
Cliff	Floyd	24	0.188	64	12	2	1	1	6	13	2	0	9	4	0.297	0.268	0.565
Fernando Perez	20	0.067	15	1	0	0	0	1	4	3	0	2	0	0.067	0.125	0.192
J.P.	Howell	15	0.000	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000	0.000
Justin	Ruggiano7	0.100	10	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	0.100	0.100	0.200
Matt	Garza	1	0.000	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000	0.000
A. Sonnanstine	1	0.000	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000	0.000

Comments:
Look, we've got 7 hitters with OPS higher than 0.8 now. That's satisfying.
What I really appreciate is Andre Ethier's numbers. He keeps his OPS above 1.000 and still leads the MLB in AVG.
Hopefully, B.J. Upton can end his slump and hit for average. I'll keep him leadoff.

[taiwangm]

Pitching:

First	Last	IP	ERA	G	GS	W	L	SV	K	BB	R/9
James	Shields	77.2	2.55	12	12	6	3	0	53	23	10.89
Edwin	Jackson	65.1	2.89	11	11	5	2	0	47	24	11.02
A. Sonnanstine	65.0	3.88	10	10	6	4	0	43	15	9.83
J.P.	Howell	47.0	5.36	19	5	2	3	0	40	27	14.74
Matt	Garza	44.0	3.48	8	8	4	1	0	28	12	11.66
Dan	Wheeler	31.1	2.01	29	0	3	0	2	26	12	9.19
Trever	Miller	30.0	2.70	33	0	4	0	0	31	11	9.30
Jason	Hammel	28.1	2.86	5	5	3	1	0	22	10	10.48
Al	Reyes	26.0	2.77	22	0	1	0	1	29	9	9.00
Gary	Glover	25.1	6.04	16	0	2	0	0	18	11	14.92
Scott	Kazmir	24.1	2.59	4	4	3	1	0	26	7	10.36
Troy	Percival21.0	4.29	24	0	0	1	18	18	9	13.29

J.P. Howell was used as a swingman, and this month, he was not so effective.
Now Gary Glover owns an ERA above 6, but it's just because he gaved up 10 runs in that 1-16 defeat. He still pitches fairly well.
Kazmir emerged from the DL and exceled, while the other starters kept their effort. James Shields now leads the AL in ERA.

[taiwangm]

Around the league

Trades:
Marlins and Red Sox swept a total of 5 players.
RF Jeremy Hermida and C Paul Hoover were sent to Boston in return for C Kevin Cash, SP Nicholas Hagadone and RP Hideki Okajima.
Both two catchers were at most backups, and Hagadone has a high ceiling. Okajima is a lefty specialist.

Oakland sent slugger Jack Cust to the Nationals for prospect SP J.D. Martin.

Contracts:
No Major signings this month.
Wily Mo Pena signed to a 4-year extension at $8.7M. He was rated great in the roster.

Major Injuries:
May 4: Nate McLouth broke his collar bone and would miss 5 weeks.
May 17: San Francisco's Randy Winn suffered a fractured eye bone and was estimated to miss a month.
May 19: Bad news for Florida. Cody Ross broke his back vertebra and would miss 7 months.
May 24: Ervin Santana's forearm was broken, and he was to miss seven weeks.
May 31: Reds' starter Josh Fogg was out for a month due to a broken collar bone.

Milestones:
Vladimir Guerrero got his 2000th hit on May 4.
Juan Pierre stole his 400th base on May 9.
A long ball produced by Manny Ramirez on May 24 was the memorable 500th.

Big Names Retirements:
May 7: former top-notch closer Armando Benitez retired with 289 career saves and was a two-time all-star.
May 18: Hideo Nomo, the first Japenese player of MLB, retired with a career record of 123-109 and a 4.21 ERA.

[taiwangm]

Troy Percival is the first man in MLB to reach 20 saves this year.
Rays Still Hot, Winning 6 Straight
May 31, 2008: COL 5 - 8 TB
Jason Hirsh (0-0) vs. Matt Garza (3-1)
We hit a bunch of hits and score a lot. With enough offense and a quality start, a win was not hard to claim.
W: Matt Garza (4-1)

June 1, 2008: COL 5 - 6 TB
Ubaldo Jimenez (4-2) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (6-4)
Jimenez couldn't fing where the striking zone was. He used 117 pitches in 3.2 innings and sent 8 walks.
However, Andy Sonnanstine burned all 3 runs we support him, allowing a 3-run Garrett Atkins homer in the fifth.
Atkins homered twice in this game, but in vain. We won by scoring two over Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
W: Al Reyes (2-0)
SV: Troy Percival (19)

June 2, 2008: COL 0 - 2 TB
Franklin Morales (4-2) vs. James Shields (6-3)
Morales was strong to perform a quality start, but Shields was even stronger to finish 8 scoreless innings.
W: James Shields (7-3)
SV: Troy Percival (20)

Star of the series: Carl Crawford. 9-for-14, 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 3 stolen bases.
*Eric Hinske was released. Ben Zobrist was promoted to the Majors. He hit .547 after coming off DL in AAA-I really hope he can be what he is in the real world.

[taiwangm]

Pena belted 4 homers in this series.

The Games Roll On for Rays---9 Now
June 3, 2008: TB 8 - 3 BAL
Edwin Jackson (5-2) vs. Brian Burres (1-5)
We're going to face a 7.77-ERA pitcher tonight. All we have to do is hit.
Not so easy. After 5 innings we were 1-3 behind and has collected only 2 hits. The run was a Carlos Pena solo blast.
In the sixth, we tied the score for another Carlos Pena homer. The next innings, Fernando Perez succeeded to bunt Andre Ethier home.
4 other runs came in the eighth. We eventually did hit but not over Burres, but thier 'pen instead.
W: Al Reyes (3-0)

June 4, 2008: TB 6 - 4 BAL
Scott Kazmir (3-1) vs. Garrett Olson (0-1)
Both southpaws struggled in the first inning---2-2.
And both side continued struggling, as Carlos Pena had back-to-back double-homer game.
Despite sruggling, Kazmir still managed to extend his quality start combo to 5. He used 125 pitches, though.
W: Scott Kazmir (4-1)
SV: Troy Percival (21)

June 5, 2008: TB 3 - 1 BAL
Andy Sonnanstine (6-4) vs. Daniel Cabrera (3-5)
Garza had finger blister probelms and Sonnanstine said that he was strong enough that he only pitched 85 last start. Let's give it a try.
Anyway, we've got J.P. Howell.
It turned out that both starters were very impressive--Cabrera shut us down for six innings but finally surrendered three in the seventh due to a B.J. Upton cleaning double.
As for Sonnanstine, he was anything but tired, using 87 pitches to finish eight inning, onlt letting Brian Roberts score once.
W: Andy Sonnanstine (7-4)
SV: Troy Percival (22)
*Our winning streak extended to 9 games!

Star of the series: Carlos Pena, 6-for-12, 4HR, 7RBI

[taiwangm]

Buster Posey and Tim Beckham are Rays' top two picks.

Amateur Draft
We got the 1st overall pick for our 66-96 record in '07.

First Round Pick (1st overall): C Buster Posey (66/89)
A first-round catcher is hard to obtain, not to mention he is already rated 88 defensively.
Posey is on track to be an outstanding catcher with excellent defense and decent contact and power.
I also thought of SP Brian Matusz and SS Tim Beckham, but the decision was finally made because I found that Evan Longoria and Posey were good friends!

Second Round Pick (31st overall): SS Tim Beckham (52/93)
At 18, Tim Beckham was regarded as one of the most talented shortstop draftee, and he was in real world 1st overall picked by the Rays.
I was actually surprised that he was still available after the first round. So, why not?

Third Round Pick (61st overall): CF Anthony Hewitt (52/82)
This is a rather hard pick. Despite drafted Beckham, we still lack young infielders, but there are plenty of more talented young arms.
Finally, I went to who was the best fit of the team. Hewitt could play multiple positions, and I'll set him in RF in regard of his 92 arm, since we already have CF Desmond Jennings in the minors.

Fourth Round Pick (91st overall): SP Brad Holt (49/80)
Holt was scouted a decent pitching prospect and was a B fit in Rays. He is a three quarter pitcher featuring changeup.

Fifth Round Pick (121st overall): 2B Tim Wardius (51/73)
Wardius' low rating has a lot to do with his health (55). But we really need young infielders, and since it's the fifth round, we're not in big loss if he really busts.

Sixth Round Pick (151st overall): RP Pat Nishiwaki (45/70)
A Japanese young reliever (17), he is nothing special but is a southpaw and looks better than other options available.

[taiwangm]

Dan Wheeler took Rays' 10th win straight.

10-Game Streak Ended by Sox
June 7, 2008: BOS 2 - 4 TB
Josh Beckett (4-5) vs. Matt Garza (4-1)
It seems that Garza's finger recovered. Tonight, we have Zobrist as DH, replacing Gomes in the slump.
Over the first five innings, not much offense emerged that both side scored only once.
I put J.P. Howell up in the sixth, replacing Garza (96 pitches), but he suffered a J.D. Drew double and we were in trail, 1-2.
Beckett used 129 pitches to finish 8 innings, and they put up Papelbon---then, a walk-off homer! Andre Ethier, bravo!
W: Dan Wheeler (4-0)
*We now have a 10-game winning streak. There is one thing interesting: our relievers combine for a 13-1 record.
The only loss was the Percival blown save; J.P. Howell's all five decisions came in starting role, no count.

June 8, 2008: BOS 10 - 3 TB
Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-3) vs. James Shields (7-3)
David Ortiz hit a 3-run homer in the third inning, while Dice-K K'ed six of the nine batters in the first three innings.
Shields was hit off the mound in the fourth and served 3 homers today (Drew, Ortiz and Julio Lugo.)
L: James Shields (7-4)

June 9, 2008: BOS 3 - 2 TB
Tim Wakefield (6-1) vs. Edwin Jackson (5-2)
Not much we could take from Wakefield's knuckleball.
L: Edwin Jackson (5-3)

Star of the series: tried to find one, but I decided to keep this column empty.

[taiwangm]

Kevin Millwood pitched well to stop Rangers from being swept.

21-4 And 13-0: Extreme Rout
June 10, 2008: TB 4 - 3 TEX
Scott Kazmir (4-1) vs. Vincent Padilla (4-2)
We just kept seeing the ball well, hit Padilla 8 times in his 3.2 innings.
For the sixth time in sixth chances, Scott Kazmir pitched a quality start. He finished six innings in a 4-3 lead. That's the game.
W: Scott Kazmir (5-1)
SV: Troy Percival (23)

June 11, 2008: TB 21 - 4 TEX
Andy Sonnanstine (7-4) vs. Kason Gabbard (2-7)
When you face the Rangers, you just try to hit and hit and hit---that's exactly what we did.
We scored 21 runs on 19 hits and 8 free passes.
W: Andy Sonnanstine (8-4)

June 12, 2008: TB 13 - 0 TEX
James Shields (7-4) vs. Brandon McCarthy (0-0)
No more strategies. Just swing the bat and see what happens. Carlos Pena homered in 1st and 3rd---the third multiple-homer game this year.
In this series, the Rangers' starter was never there after the fourth inning.
Shields exceled again, addressing seven scorelss innings as well as ten strikeouts.
W: James Shields (8-4)

June 13, 2008: TB 2 - 5 TEX
Matt Garza (4-1) vs. Kevin Millwood (6-4)
Garza was homered 3 times in five innings, leaving trailing 0-4.
We didn't have time to take advantage of their 'pen, sice Millwood went great 7.1 innings.
L: Matt Garza (4-2)

Star of the series: Carlos Pena, 10-for-18, 3 homers, 13 RBI in just 4 games.

[taiwangm]

Evan Longoria experienced his first multiple-homer game.

Tampa Hitters Crazy Again, 17-6
June 14, 2008: DET 6 - 17 TB
Kenny Rogers (6-3) vs. Edwin Jackson (5-3)
After 4 innings, we were tied 3-3, but we had a big innings in the fifth that retired Rogers and took the lead, 8-3.
This game turned out to be a slugfest---a total of 23 runs and 34 hits were created.
The two sides combined for 6 homers, while 2 of them was bashed by Evan Longoria.
W: Edwin Jackson (6-3)

June 15, 2008: DET 1 - 4 TB
Jeremy Bonderman (6-3) vs. Scott Kazmir (5-1)
Miguel Cabrera and Andre Ethier both soloed in the second inning, and we added three in the fifth and sixth inning.
Kazmir has kept up his quality work for 7 consecutive starts, allowing only Miguel Cabrera to step home, and fanned 8 in 7 innings.
W: Scott Kazmir (6-1)
SV: Troy Percival (24)
*Scott Kazmir is the only starter in both leagues to address a 100% quality starting percentage.

June 16, 2008: DET 9 - 3 TB
Dontrelle Willis (3-4) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (8-4)
The D-train was fast, retiring all of our fisrt 11 batters.
Andy Sonnanstine was badly hit, allowing 7 runs in 7 innings pitched.
Despite Jonny Gomes' 19th homer, we still fell.
L: Andy Sonnanstine (8-5)

Star of the series: Jonny Gomes 3-for-11, 2 homer, 2 walks

[taiwangm]

Scott Kazmir got only 3-day rest but expressed his 8th consecutive quality start.

When Will Kazmir Fall?
June 17, 2008: TOR 3 - 7 TB
Roy Halladay (8-3) vs. James Shields (8-4)
Homeruns abounded in tonight's game. B.J. Upton soloed, and than Matt Stairs and Aaron Hill.
By 4 back-to-back hits, we tied the score in the fouth, 3-3. Andre Ethier homered Tallet in the sixth to take the lead.
Shields took 8 innings and allowed 3 runs. In the eighth, Carlos Pena and Andre Ethier both homered.
W: James Shields (9-4)

June 18, 2008: TOR 3 - 1 TB
A.J. Burnett (7-3) vs. Matt Garza (4-2)
J.P. Howell and Edwin Jackson both suffered minor injury, which means we'll have no starter tomorrow.
As a result, we should give Garza more innings to rest the 'pen today.
A.J. Burnett retired our first 13 batters, but surrendered a solo homer to Evan Longoria inthe fifth.
Garza went for 7 innings, but we only collected 2 hits in the whole game.
L: Matt Garza (4-3)

June 19, 2008: TOR 1 - 3 TB
Dustin McGowan (4-3) vs. Scott Kazmir (6-1)
Yes, we have to pitch Scott Kazmir despite he's only three days after last start.
Hopefully, he can pitch, say, 4~5 innings, and we've got a strong 'pen.
No---he was really good. Fantastic. Kazmir no-hitted the Jays until fifth, and kept the Jays scoreless in all six innings pitched.
Actually, we were also no-hitted to the sixth, but took advantage of the Jays' error and 3 hits to score 3. Enough for Kazmir.
Our bullpen also exceled, showing in combine 7 strikeouts in the rest three innings.
8 straight quality starts for Kazmir!
W: Scott Kazmir (7-1)
SV: Troy Percival (25)

Star of the series: I would say Scott Kazmir, who started emergencily and went 6 scoreless innings.

[taiwangm]

Jeremy Hermida grand-slamed Matt Garza.

Shields MLB-First to 10 Wins
June 21, 2008: TB 4 - 5 BOS
Andy Sonnanstine (8-5) vs. Clay Buchholz (5-3)
Buchholz pitched 7.1 innings and only let us score 1.
In the ninth, they put up Jonathan Papelbon but we managed to tie the score---Evan Longoria's hit by pitch, and two doubles by Gomes and Shawn Riggans.
The next inning, both side scored one. 4-4 to the eleventh!
In the eleventh, we put up Edwin Jackson, put suffered a minor injury and was skipped start.
He eventually surrendered a walk-off solo homer to the Papi in the 12th.
L: Edwin Jackson (6-4)

June 22, 2008: TB 5 - 3 BOS
James Shields (9-4) vs. Josh Beckett (5-6)
Shields allowed 3 runs in the first inning, but never allowed more in a total of 8 innings pitched.
We scored 5 on only 4hits!
W: James Shields (10-4)
SV: Troy Percival (26)

June 23, 2008: TB 2 - 5 BOS
Matt Garza (4-3) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-4)
Garza was hit a grand slam by Jeremy Hermida, and the two starters combined for 72 pitches in the first inning.
J.P. Howell pitched in long relief, going 4.1 innings without allowing runs.
L: Matt Garza (4-4)

Star of the series: None. Unfortunately, our offense decreased.

[taiwangm]

4 of 5 B.J. Upton's hits were homers in this series.

Shields Continue To Lead the Wins; Kazmir Unhittable
June 24, 2008: KC 6 - 0 TB
Luke Hochevar (1-7) vs. Edwin Jackson (6-4)
Jackson didn't pitch well, giving up 6 runs.
L: Edwin Jackson (6-5)

June 25, 2008: KC 5 - 6 TB
Daniel Cortes (2-0) vs. Scott Kazmir (7-1)
Jonny Gomes reached 20 homers. And, OK---that's 9 straight, yes?
Scott Kazmir pitched for quality again and again, six innings, three runs, as well as 9 K's.
W: Scott Kazmir (8-1)
SV: Troy Percival (27)

June 26, 2008: KC 5 - 8 TB
Jorge de la Rosa (2-4) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (8-5)
Carlos Pena homered in 1st, and Dioner Navarro added one in the next inning.
Andy Sonnanstine had trouble in 5th, allowing three runs, but our offense added much, including B.J. Upton's homer.
W: Andy Sonnanstine (9-5)
SV: Troy Percival (28)

June 27, 2008: KC 5 - 10 TB
Zack Grienke (7-3) vs. James Shields (10-4)
We stoke five hits, including B.J. Upton's 11th homer, to score 4 in the 2nd.
B. J. Upton bashed his second long ball in the 5th, to lead 8-2.
They even put up yesterday's starter, Jorge de la Rosa, in relief. He pitched for 1 inning.
W: James Shields (11-4)

Star of the series: B.J. Upton, 5-for-16, 4 homers, 6 RBI

[taiwangm]

Luke Scott hit a walk-off homer over J.P. Howell.

10 Straight Quality Starts: Kazmir, or Kazmir Young
June 28, 2008: TB 6 - 4 BAL
Matt Garza (4-4) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (5-5)
Two sluggers soloed in the 2nd inning, including Carlos Pena's 19th and Luke Scott's 21th.
Then came Adam Jones' 11th in the next inning, still a solo blast.
After that, Andre Ethier bashed a two-run long ball in the fourth. A homer abundance.
So why not Nolan Reimold? His second career homer came in the bottom of the fouth. The fifth homer today---in the fouth inning.
We wait until the eighth inning to see the sixth homer, a solo by B.J. Upton---his 5th homer in last 4 games.
W: Matt Garza (5-4)
SV: Troy Percival (29)

June 29, 2008: TB 5 - 6 BAL
Edwin Jackson (6-5) vs. Adam Loewen (3-8)
Loewen has had a 8.42 ERA. Hopefully, we could maintain our homer efficiency.
Result: no homers emerged, but we did saw 136 pitches and drew 6 walks in his 4.2 innings stint.
As Al Reyes blew Jackson's win, it went to the extras. It eventually was a walk-off homer allowed by J.P. Howell to Luke Scott.
L: J.P. Howell (2-4)

June 30, 2008: TB 5 - 0 BAL
Scott Kazmir (8-1) vs. Jim Johnson(1-3)
Johnson is a pitcher rated at 64. Crawford and Pena back-to-back homered in the 1st.
As for Kazmir, I think the only matter is if he can reach 10 straight quality starts.
Everything went out right as Kazmir threw another 6 scoreless innings without reaching 100-pitches as he usually does.
W: Scott Kazmir (9-1)

Star of the series: Carlos Pena 6-for-14, 2 homers, 5RBI