Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Check Marc Topkin’s blog for the starting lineups.
Marc Lancaster is reporting (via Twitter) that the Rays have indeed acquired Sean Rodriguez from the Angels as the player to be named later in the Scott Kazmir trade. Rodriguez has been assigned to triple-A Durham.
We answered a few questions about the Rays for the Red Sox flagship station, NESN. During negotiations, we were holding out for a Wall E. Monster bobblehead, but had to settle for life-size Dustin Pedroia bobblehead (it’s 4″ tall). Enjoy…
Rays Hope Home Cooking Can Keep Them in Wild-Card Race [NESN]
The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Needed Win. After the way the Rays lost on Sunday and considering how they have played most of the season on Getaway Day, the Rays needed to come out early and remove any pressure that may have built up over the course of the game. The offense did that with each of the first 6 batters of the game scoring, capped by Carlos Pena’s AL-leading 38th HR…James Shields. It was ugly, but it was effective. With a 6-run lead before even taking the mound, Shields needed to just throw strikes and let the defense make the plays. He gave up 5 runs (4 earned) ultimately, but he only walked 1 and worked 7 innings for the win…Jason Bartlett. 3 more hits to raise his average to .340 including his 12th HR, a 400-foot blast…Big Bats. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria combined to go 6-10 with 5 runs scored and 5 RBI.
THE BAD: Strange. (ok, this really isn’t bad…) If we had told you back in March that the Rays would play a big game in the middle of the playoff race with Jason Bartlett, Gabe Kapler and Ben Zobrist as the 1-2-3 hitters, you would have laughed.
THE TELLING: The Rays picked up a game on Texas who lost yesterday. The Rays trail the Rangers by just 1 game in the Wild Card…The Rays are 13-2 against the Red Sox at the Trop over the past 2 seasons.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Gwinnett 8, Durham 6. With the Bulls still short on starting pitching, Jeff Bennett made another start giving up 2 runs in 2 innings…Matt Joyce hit his 16th home run and was 2-4…Fernando Perez was 0-4 with a walk and his 8th steal…Reid Brignac went 2-5 with a double and an RBI.a
Carolina 1, Montgomery 0 (gm 1). Brandon Mann allowed 1 run in 5.1 innings with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks…Jose Lobaton pinch-hit and struck out…The Biscuits managed just 3 hits.
Montgomery, Carolina (gm 2). Alex Torres, acquired in the Scott Kazmir deal, made his debut for the Biscuits, working 4 innings and giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 3. Two runs came via a home run…The Biscuits managed just 1 hit, a leadoff single in the 5th by Matt Fields, and 4 hits total in the double-header.
Charlotte. (no games scheduled)
Asheville 7, Bowling Green 0. Shane Dyer made his 15th start and dropped to 1-10 after giving up just 2 unearned runs in 4.2 innings. He struck out 5 and walked none…Converted infielder Joey Callender gave up 5 runs in 4.1 innings of relief. This was his first appearance for Bowling Green after 48 innings (3.75 ERA) with Princeton…Tim Beckham went 0-4 and Jake Jefferies was 1-4. Beckham stole his 13th base. He was also caught for the 10th time.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
