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Longoria leads Rays’ power surge vs. Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — All series, Evan Longoria kept hitting the ball hard, but right at someone.
When the hits finally started falling Wednesday afternoon — especially in key late-game situations — it made a big difference for Longoria and the Rays.
After scoring only two runs in the first two games of the series, the Rays put a dozen across in the finale against the Twins, including a four-run eighth inning and a three-run ninth for a 12-5 victory.
“We’ve been battling so far on this road trip,” Longoria said, “and to be able to come through with a hit like that — [which] kind of opened up the floodgates a little bit for us — it’s a pretty good feeling.”
Longoria singled to left in the eighth off Minnesota reliever Alex Burnett, driving in the go-ahead run for Tampa Bay. As if that wasn’t enough, he added a three-run home run in the ninth for good measure — his 11th of the season.
After picking up just three hits, one home run and four RBIs while batting .115 in his previous seven games, Longoria matched those hit, home run and RBI totals in the series finale against the Twins.
His reward for his performance? Sitting out the bottom of the ninth to rest his sore left foot as the Rays closed out the game.
“If he had not hit that home run, he would’ve had to go out in the ninth inning,” manager Joe Maddon said. “But he hit the home run and I got him off his feet.
“I kind of discussed it with him. I didn’t say, ‘If you hit a home run you’re coming out of the game,’ but it kind of worked out that way.”
Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach got the offense going with a two-run homer in the second, and second baseman Sean Rodriguez added another two-run blast in the eighth. Then, Longoria capped the scoring with his ninth-inning blast.
Between the first two home runs, Tampa Bay put two across in the fourth on two hits, two walks and a hit batter. It added another run in the fifth with a walk and two singles that knocked Twins starter Francisco Liriano out of the game.
Liriano went just 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, four walks, three hit batters and four strikeouts.
“He had no command of his fastball, none,” Maddon said of Liriano. “If we had just taken [pitches], we would’ve had a lot of walks, because we were chasing outside the zone. He was not attacking the zone at all.”
Rays leadoff hitter Johnny Damon was hit twice by Liriano — the second knocking him out of the game with a contusion on his left hand. Sam Fuld replaced Damon, going 2-for-3 with a walk.
X-rays on Damon’s hand came back negative, and he is considered day-to-day.
The 12 runs marked the fourth time this season Tampa Bay had reached double digits offensively, and the second time this year in six games at Target Field. Thanks to the breakout performance by the offense, the Rays overcame a less-than-stellar start by right-hander Wade Davis.
“I thought that it was probably some of the worst stuff that I’ve had all year,” Davis said. “But I battled through it … and it’s a good win for us.”
Davis went five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks. He struck out just one batter.
In the crucial eighth inning, Fuld singled with one out and Ben Zobrist followed with a walk. Longoria then plated the go-ahead run with a single, and a safety squeeze scored Zobrist on a bunt by B.J. Upton.
Rodriguez made it a four-run game with his fourth home run of the season. All four runs in the eighth were allowed by reliever Alex Burnett, who took the loss.
“They have some really good hitters. They can do a lot of things,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. “They can handle the bat and they have a couple guys who can pop it.”
After going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position during the first two games of the series, the Rays were 7-for-14 in those situations Wednesday.
Even with all the offense, though, Maddon was not satisfied with his team’s performance.
“You cannot let those opportunities slip,” Maddon said. “We made a lot of subtle mistakes today that we’ve got to do better with if we expect to go back [to the playoffs] — which we do. We were fortunate to get by today.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Rays notebook, 7/6
Pickoffs becoming valuable weapon for Shields
MINNEAPOLIS — With two pickoffs in Tuesday night’s game, Rays right-hander James Shields increased his Major League-leading total to 10 on the year.
Shields is the first right-hander to record at least 10 pickoffs in a season since Jack McDowell had 13 for the White Sox in 1993. His 10 pickoffs also are the third-highest total for a right-hander since the stat was first recorded in 1974 — behind McDowell and leader Charlie Hough, who had 16 in ’88.
With nearly half a season remaining, Shields has an excellent chance to pass both McDowell and Hough.
“He works at it, he cares,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s so hard to get pitchers to understand that you could really help yourself — not only just by picking somebody off, [but also] by shortening leads — by causing the other team to do something different because you are good at it. I don’t think enough pitchers spend enough time doing it.”
Shields’ pickoffs came in big situations Wednesday as well, helping him minimize the damage done by the Twins’ offense. In the first, Shields picked Alexi Casilla off at second base, ending the inning and limiting Minnesota to just one run in the frame.
In the fourth, Shields picked Rene Tosoni off first base for the second out of the inning. He then struck out Jason Repko for what essentially amounted to a double play.
“It’s definitely high for me, I didn’t expect to have 10 pickoffs for the year,” Shields said. “But we’re doing a great job with getting the right plays in the right situations. … Pickoffs are always good as a pitcher. It saves you pitches, saves you maybe a couple runs.”
Hand contusion could sideline Damon vs. Yanks
MINNEAPOLIS — Fortunately for Johnny Damon, X-rays showed nothing was broken in his left hand after he was hit by Twins starter Francisco Liriano for the second time Wednesday.
Unfortunately for Damon and the Rays, he could still miss some time in the next series against the Yankees.
“I’m hoping to have a speedy recovery tonight so I can get back in the lineup,” Damon said after Wednesday’s game. “It got me pretty good — probably the worst I’ve gotten in my career, and I’ve taken one off the face before.”
After being hit by two pitches in his first two plate appearances, Damon left the series finale against the Twins with a contusion on his left hand.
Liriano hit Damon to lead off the game and hit him again to begin the third inning. Damon was hit on his left hand the second time, and it was noticeably swollen after the Rays’ 12-5 victory.
“It’s definitely a day-to-day thing,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday. “We’ll reevaluate tomorrow. But for right now, there’s a chance — more than likely not tomorrow, but maybe the day after that, or Saturday — that he’d be able to play.”
Damon remained in the game to run the bases in the third, and the veteran designated hitter said he tried to ice his hand and keep the swelling down to stay in the game. Damon was replaced before he was due up in the fourth, as Sam Fuld batted for Damon and walked.
Now, Damon is just hoping the injury only lasts a couple days and doesn’t keep him out until the All-Star break.
“I got lucky,” Damon said. “One inch either way, it could be really bad.”
Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach, who also was Damon’s teammate in 2005 with the Red Sox, said he expects Damon back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
“He’ll be in there [Thursday],” Shoppach said. “Come on, it’s Johnny Damon — 15 straight years, 140-plus games. It won’t be long, if it’s long at all.
“I watched this guy once run into the fence in Fenway, slit his eyelid, had to have stitches on his eyelid — played the next day.”
Foot issue contributing to Longoria’s struggles
MINNEAPOLIS — When third baseman Evan Longoria grounded out to third base in the first inning Tuesday night, he did not exactly fly down the line towards first base.
The reason for that was a nerve issue in his left foot, which has been an occasional problem for Longoria. Manager Joe Maddon said it was just something Longoria is going to have to fight through.
“It’s like a toothache — sometimes it just grabs you the wrong way and it might zing or burn for a moment,” Maddon said. “Then, all of a sudden, it goes back to normal. That’s what he’s got.
“It could hurt him and then go away. That’s pretty much what happened.”
Longoria has not put up his usual numbers all season, and he has especially struggled lately. In his previous seven games before Wednesday, when he went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, Longoria batted just .115 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs.
While the foot issue may have been the cause for Longoria’s recent slump, Maddon pointed to the slugger’s early season oblique injury to explain his low numbers through the first half of the 2011 season.
“It began with the oblique … that was a month,” Maddon said. “By not playing for that first month, I think that really set him back. He’s been trying to play catch-up ever since.”
Maddon said he was not concerned with Longoria’s numbers, and the skipper believes that the bigger concern was his third baseman getting over the nerve issue in his left foot as quickly as possible.
If nothing else, not making the All-Star Game and struggling through the first half of the season could serve to help the long-term growth of the young Rays star.
“I’m sure it serves as motivation for him,” Maddon said. “I know he’s not been up to his standards, but he’s still a pretty good baseball player regardless. He still does some great things for us.”
Damon surprised by final out call Tuesday
MINNEAPOLIS — As he hit first base in the ninth inning Tuesday night, Johnny Damon was sure he was safe. In fact, he was already thinking about the fact that he had brought the Rays’ hottest hitter — Ben Zobrist — to the plate with the bases loaded.
Or so he thought.
Damon was shocked that he was called out, but what really surprised him was the way first-base umpire Gary Darling made the call — very matter-of-fact, with no emotion.
“The umpire walked off like it wasn’t even a close play, like I was going to get called out regardless,” Damon said. “Normally on a bang-bang play, you’ve got to try to sell it. When there was no emotion, I thought for sure he was calling me safe. [The Twins’ players] looked pretty stunned, too. The Twins were kind of laughing and saying they got one. And unfortunately for us, it happened to be in a key situation of the game.”
Rays manager Joe Maddon said before Wednesday’s game that he agreed Damon could have been safe.
Maddon also said he thought Darling had a good game Tuesday night as the first-base umpire.
“I thought he made a lot of good calls,” Maddon said. “So the last play of the game — that probably was the closest out of all the tough calls he had yesterday.”
As for the emotion — or lack of it — Maddon was not surprised by that, either.
“[Darling] was the same way on the other three [close] plays,” Maddon said. “If you look at the replays of the other three plays — very matter-of-fact safe, very matter-of-fact safe, very matter-of-fact out.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Missed chances hurt Rays against Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — Early in Monday’s game, the Rays were hitting the ball hard, and it looked as though they would have their way with Twins lefty Brian Duensing.
But in the fifth, Duensing took control and cruised for his second career shutout. He shut down the Rays throughout the game but was especially impressive late in the Rays’ 7-0 loss to the Twins at Target Field.
“We had chances, and I really thought we were swinging the bats well early,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Once we got to about the fifth inning, I think it was, we stopped hitting anything well. But we had our moments.”
One of those moments came in the first inning.
Johnny Damon led off the game with a single, and Sean Rodriguez followed with another. After Evan Longoria flied out to left, B.J. Upton walked to load the bases with one out.
The Rays were in position to take an early lead, but Duensing got Justin Ruggiano to ground into an inning-ending double play instead.
An inning later, Casey Kotchman singled to lead off the inning, but Duensing quickly got two outs on another double-play ball from Kelly Shoppach.
The last of the Rays’ chances came in the fourth. Upton led off with a single but was called out as he attempted to steal second base. Replays showed that he may have beaten the tag.
“If that play had been called differently, it could’ve been a different moment for us right there,” Maddon said.
Kotchman followed with a single that would likely have scored Upton, and Shoppach then walked, setting up an opportunity for All-Star right fielder Matt Joyce to deliver a two-out RBI. Joyce hit the ball hard toward the hole on the right side, but Alexi Casilla made a diving stop at second base to save a run.
Had Joyce hit the ball a foot or two in either direction, it could have been the start of a rally.
“Yeah, absolutely, I think it might have got us going,” Joyce said. “Obviously, it would have put a run on the board. I don’t know if it would have scored two, but you know what? We hit a lot of balls hard today, [we] just hit them right at ’em.”
Whereas the Rays were unable to take advantage of their early opportunities, the Twins jumped on lefty David Price in the second.
With a runner on and one out in the second, Price gave up a single, a walk and a double to the bottom third of the Twins’ order, putting three runs on the board. In the fourth, he surrendered a solo home run to fellow All-Star Michael Cuddyer, a 443-foot blast into the second deck in left.
Price finished the afternoon with four runs allowed on five hits, six strikeouts and one walk. After Cuddyer’s home run, he settled in nicely, retiring nine in a row and 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
“It’s disappointing,” Price said. “I got outpitched. … I felt like I threw the ball fine, [but] it’s not good enough. I gave up four runs in six innings.”
As did Price, Duensing looked much better in the second half of his outing than in the first.
After walking Elliot Johnson to lead off the fifth, Duensing retired 10 batters in a row and 15 of the last 16 Rays to come to the plate. Over the last five innings, the Rays had just two baserunners, one on Johnson’s walk and the other on an eighth-inning single by Rodriguez.
“It’s frustrating,” Joyce said. “It’s frustrating to keep going and keep grinding through it.
“For me it’s been a frustrating month. You hit hard balls right at people, and they don’t fall, and then your next at-bat, they make a perfect pitch or something, or you miss your pitch. It’s just one of those things. You really have to grind it out.”
While the Rays were struggling to even reach base late in the game, Twins third baseman Danny Valencia connected for a three-run blast off right-hander Adam Russell in the eighth, giving Duensing even more wiggle room when as he returned for the ninth.
Duensing, who beat the Rays in April at Tropicana Field, delivered his best outing of the season, giving up just six hits over nine shutout innings, walking four and recording seven. Against the Rays this season, hw is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, having allowed just two runs in 16 innings.
It was his second career shutout, with the other coming on Aug. 14, 2010, when he tossed a three-hitter against the A’s.
“I was real excited [with] how it turned out,” Duensing said. “It didn’t start as well as I wanted it to. But the defense made great plays behind me to keep me in it. And the next thing you know, the offense started scoring runs against David Price, who has pretty good stuff.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Longoria expected to be activated Tuesday
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
“Everybody is worried, myself included, about fatigue and soreness — the lingering effects of those first couple of games as opposed to getting the at-bats,” Longoria told the Tampa Tribune.
Maddon said Longoria will bat leadoff while playing four games in five days. Longoria is scheduled to play seven innings Thursday and Friday, then take either Saturday or Sunday off to rest his oblique.
He is then scheduled to play nine innings Monday before being activated before Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays.
“He’ll decide how he feels after the first two, and then if he needs the Saturday, he’ll play Sunday. If he feels good Saturday, he’ll play Saturday and take Sunday off,” Maddon said. “He’ll hit leadoff in each game, so that he’s able to get as many at-bats in as minimal amount of innings possible.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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