Monday, August 3, 2009
First Inning
Another Parks and Recreation day at the Trop. Scott Kazmir gets his first batter swinging to start the game. And he strikes out Willie Bloomquist for the second out. Gabe Gross makes a terrific catch off the fence to end the inning. Jason Bartlett leads off with a walk and advances to second on a single by Carl Crawford. Both runners move into scoring position on Evan Longoria’s groundout. Ben Zobrist walks to load the bases for Carlos Peña. Peña singles the other way through short for the first two runs of the game. Willy Aybar strikes out. Both runners advance on a wild pitch with two outs. Gross strikes out to end the inning. 2-0 Rays
Second Inning
Mark Teahen leads off with a double to the gap in left-center. A blooper by Miguel Olivo scores the first run for the Royals. Two foul pops end the inning for Kazmir. A walk, a single and a bunt hit load the bases with nobody out. CC knocks in two with a double down the line. Longo and the Zorilla strike out looking for the first two outs. Peña strikes out swinging to end the inning. It should be a lot worse than 4-1 Rays.
Third Inning
Kazmir gets the Royals in order. He has been very sharp this afternoon. The Rays don’t do any better, going down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. 4-1 Rays
Fourth Inning
Kazmir retires the Royals 1-2-3 for the second straight inning. Bartlett doubles off the wall in left with one out. Crawford singles up the middle to drive in Bartlett. Crawford steals his 49th base and advances to third when the throw trickles by the bag. Longo strikes out swinging yet again. Zobrist strikes out swinging to end the inning. 5-1 Rays
Fifth Inning
Olivo singles for the second time between two strike outs. Yuniesky Betancourt singles with two outs. David DeJesus hits a bloop over Kazmir’s head to load the bases. A deep fly to center ends the inning. Peña strikes out swinging to start the inning. Aybar hits a solo homer into the seats in right field, his ninth. Gross doubles off the wall in left with one out. Michel Hernandez singled to put runners on the corners. Gabe Kapler hits into a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning.
6-1 Rays
Sixth Inning
Teahen gets hit by a pitch with one out. John Bucks hit a two-out double to score a run. A deep fly to left ends the inning. Robinson Tejeda replaces Zach Grienke, who allowed six runs, the most of any start this season. Longo walks on a pitch that sails over his head. Ron Mahay now in for the Royals. Zobrist grounds out to end the inning. 6-2 Rays
Seventh Inning
Kaz is back out to start the seventh. After a leadoff walk, Kaz is replaced by Grant Balfour. DeJesus singles with one out. A single by Bloomquist loads the bases with one out. Billy Butler hits an RBI sac fly to center for the second out. Brian Shouse in the game for the Rays. Shouse gets the strikeout to end the inning. Aybar homers, his second of the game and 10th of the year, on the first pitch he sees. Hernandez triples to right for an RBI. Kapler walks, so there are runners on the corners with one out. Bartlett triples in two runs to get the Rays to double digits. Perhaps JB should always bat leadoff? Longo pops foul to the catcher to end the inning. 10-3 Rays
Eighth Inning
BJ Upton replaces Kapler in center, who moves to left. Jeff Bennett is in the game for the Rays, and he allows a leadoff single. A double play and a pop-up ends the inning. Juan Cruz is now pitching for the Royals. Zorilla walks to lead off the inning. Peña strikes out for the third time. Aybar shatters his bat and reaches on a fielder’s choice. 10-3 Rays
Ninth Inning
JP Howell is in the game for the Rays. Apparently the triple hit by Hernandez was the first in his career. That is about as surprising as saying, well, that’s not surprising at all. Ryan Freel goes down on strikes to lead off. Betancourt hits a home run, his third of the season. Brayan Peña walks with one out. Double play will end the game. 10-4 Rays
W: Kazmir (6-6)
L: Grienke (10-7)
S: NONE
Attendance: 24, 219
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