5/25 - Orioles (16-34) @ Rays (35-15): Game 3

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays continue their hot streak with their fifth victory in a row, sweeping the Orioles in an extra innings game. The Rays scored first in the first on a solo blast by B.J. Upton. Later in the inning, with Carlos Pena on third, Carl Crawford hits a ground ball, and instead of getting the out at first, the third baseman makes an attempt to get Carlos Pena who's charging home, scores and everyone's safe. The Orioles tied it up in the second, though. Great Johnson singled scoring Aubrey Huff, and later in the inning,  Jay Payton scored from second on error by second baseman Akinori Iwamura. The Orioles then took the lead in the fourth on a single by Ramon Hernandez scoring Jay Payton from second, but the Rays tied it up in the bottom of the innig on a single by Akinori Iwamura scoring Dioner Navarro from second. Going into extra innings, in the bottom of the tenth, Evan Longoria ended it on a two-out walk-off home run to left field. Rays starting pitcher James Shields pitched seven innings giving up three runs, only two of those runs being earned, on ten hits and striking out two.

Final Score:

Orioles: 3

Rays: 4

F/10

WP - Dan Wheeler (6-0) | LP - Daniel Cabrera (0-7) | SV -

HR:

B.J. Upton - Rays (16)

Evan Longoria - Rays (14)

5/24 - Orioles (16-33) @ Rays (34-15): Game 2

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have won four in a a row now, taking the first two games against the Orioles in this series in Tampa. In the top of the first inning, Nick Markakis singled, scoring Brian Roberts from second. In the bottom of the first, Carl Crawford hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded scoring Akinori Iwamura to tie it up. In the third inning, Carlos Pena jacked a monster home run to right to take the lead. The Rays extended their lead in the fourth inning when B.J. Upton hit a two run single with the bases loaded scoring Dioner Navarro and Rocco Baldelli. In the fifth inning, the Orioles made a comeback with a two-run homer off the bat of Great Johnson Jay Payton, followed by a solo shot by Ramon Hernandez going back-to-back. In the fifth inning, with Dioner Navarro at the plate and Carl Crawford on third, Crawford scored on passed ball to take the lead again, but the Orioles tied it again in the top of the sixth with an Aubrey Huff solo home run. The Rays took the lead again in the seventh on a single by Dioner Navarro scoring Evan Longoria. The Rays extended their lead in the eighth with Carlos Pena's second homer of the game, a two-run shot scoring  B.J. Upton. Rays starting pitcher Scott Kazmir started well, but gave up more runs than he probably should have. He gave up all five Orioles runs on eight hits and striking out three. He still got the win in this one and Troy Percival earned his fifteenth save of the season.

Final Score:

Orioles: 5
Rays: 8

WP - Scott Kazmir (5-1) | LP - Brian Burres (2-2) | SV - Troy Percival (15)

HR:

Carlos Pena - Rays (26)

Carlos Pena - Rays (27)

Aubrey Huff - Orioles (8)

Great Johnson - Orioles (12)

Ramon Hernandez - Orioles (1)

5/23 - Orioles (16-32) @ Rays (33-15): Game 1

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have now won three in a row, taking game one of a three game series against the Orioles in Tampa Bay. The Rays scored first in the first inning on a double by Carlos Pena scoring B.J. Upton from first, followed later by a single by Carl Crawford scoring Carlos Pena. The Orioles didn't get on the board until the seventh inning with a Luke Scott home run. The Rays had a huge six run seventh including a bases loaded single by B.J. Upton scoring Rocco Baldelli and Jason Bartlett, directly followed by a three-run home run off the bat of Carlos Pena scoring Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton, directly followed by a solo shot off the bat of Evan Longoria, going back-to-back. In the eighth inning, the Orioles scored two more runs on a bases loaded single by Nick Markakis  scoring Luis Hernandez and Brian Roberts. Hideo Nomo got his first start since coming off the DL and he was phenomenal. He pitched seven strong innings giving up one run on three hits and striking out five.

Final Score:

Orioles: 3

Rays: 8

WP - Hideo Nomo (3-0) | LP - Jeremy Guthrie (0-4) | SV -

HR:

Carlos Pena - Rays (25)

Evan Longoria - Rays (13)

Luke Scott - Orioles (9)

Nomo Returns; Rays Send Down Glover

Hideo Nomo's stay on the fifteen day disabled list has ended. Nomo has fully recovered from his injury, and will be back with the team in time for their game on Friday (5/23) as the Rays have the day off today. The Rays are sending down Gary Glover to make room for Nomo on the roster.

5/21 - Rays (32-15) @ Athletics (31-15): Game 3

The Rays have won their second straight, winning this three game series two games to one. The A's scored first in the second inning on a Travis Buck single scoring Bobby Crosby from second. The Rays tied it up in the fourth with a home run by B.J. Upton to lead off the inning. The Rays scored three more in the sixth with a Cliff Floyd two-run triple scoring B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, followed later by a single off the bat of Rocco Baldelli to score Cliff Floyd. The A's scored once more in the seventh on a Mark Ellis double scoring Kurt Suzuki from first. Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza pitched six and two-thirds innings giving up both A's runs on eight hits and striking out four. Troy Percival earned his fourteenth save of the season.

Final Score:

Rays: 4

Athletics: 2

WP - Matt Garza (4-3) | LP - Rich Harden (4-4) | SV - Troy Percival (14)

HR:

B.J. Upton - Rays (15)

5/20 - Rays (31-15) @ Athletics (31-14): Game 2

OAKLAND -- The Rays have won again, taking game two of this three game series in Oakland. Oakland scored first in the third inning on a double by Mark Ellis scoring Kurt Suzuki from second. In the sixth inning, the Rays tied it up on a Cliff Floyd single scoring Carlos Pena who was on third. In the seventh inning, The Rays scored three more runs. Carlos Pena tripled scoring Jason Bartlett and B.J. Upton, followed later by a triple off the bat of Carl Crawford, scoring Pena from third. The A's scored once more in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run off the bat of Bobby Crosby to narrow the Rays lead to two, but they couldn't make a comback. Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine pitched seven strong innings giving up just one run on seven hits and striking out eight. Troy Percival closed it out for his thirteenth save of the season.

Final Score:

Rays: 4

Athletics: 2

WP - Andy Sonnanstine (3-1) | LP - Alan Embree (1-1) | SV - Troy Percival (13)

HR:

Bobby Crosby - Athletics (5)

5/19 - Rays (31-14) @ Athletics (30-14): Game 1

OAKLAND -- The Rays lost today, ending a four game winning streak. In the bottom of the first inning, Oakland got it started. Eric Chavez singled to bring home Mark Ellis who doubled and got to third on a sacrifice hit by Chris Denorfia, but the Rays tied it up when Evan Longoria led off the top of the second with a home run. In the third inning, the Rays took a 2-1 lead when Evan Longoria tripled scoring Akinori Iwamura who was on first. With no other scoring in the game, the Rays brought in Percival to close it out in the ninth, but couldn't hold the one run lead. Eric Chavez singled, followed by a monster walk-off two-run home run off the bat of Frank Thomas. Rays starting pitcher James Shields pitched very well, giving up the only Athletics run on five hits and striking out nine. Troy Percival blew the save and takes the loss in this one.

Final Score:

Rays: 2

Athletics: 3

WP - Alan Embree (1-0) | LP - Troy Percival (2-1) | SV - 

HR:

Frank Thomas - Athletics (12)

Evan Longoria - Rays (12)

5/18 - Rays (30-14) @ Cardinals (26-19): Game 3

ST. LOUIS -- The Rays have now won their fourth in a row, sweeping the Cardinals in St. Louis. Finally getting things started in the fifth, the Rays scored two runs on back-to-back home runs hit by Carl Crawford, who led off the inning with a homer, followed by Dioner Navarro to take a 2-0 lead. The only Cardinals run was scored in the bottom of the seventh with a solo blast off the bat of Troy Glaus. Rays starting pitcher Chuck James was dominant. He pitched seven innings giving up the only Cardinals run on five hits and striking out eight. Troy Percival protected the one run lead in the ninth for his twelfth save of the season.

Final Score:

Rays: 2

Cardinals: 1

WP - Chuck James (1-1) | LP - Kyle Lohse (5-3) | SV - Troy Percival (12)

HR:

Troy Glaus - Cardinals (14)
Carl Crawford - Rays (2)

Dioner Navarro - Rays (2)

5/17 - Rays (29-14) @ Cardinals (26-18): Game 2

ST. LOUIS -- The Rays have now won three in a row, taking game two against the Cardinals in St. Louis. In the first inning, Carlos Pena singled, and got to second on passed ball, followed by Evan Longoria who doubled to bring in Pena. In the bottom of the second inning, Troy Glaus homered deep into the left field bleachers to tie the game. The Rays took the lead again in the fourth inning. Dioner Navarro got a double, folliowed by a Rocco Baldelli single to score Navarro. The Rays extended their lead in the fifth inning with a home run off the bat of Akinori Iwamura. The Rays scored another in the sixth after an Evan Longoria double, Dioner Navarro doubled to score Longoria. In the seventh inning, B.J. Upton homered to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, but that lead was blown in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Duncan led off the inning with a homer to narrow the lead to three. Later in the inning, Brendan Ryan, pinch hitting in the pitchers spot crushed a two-run triple scoring Caesar Izturis and Yadier Molina. Aaron Miles pinch hitting for Adam Kennedy followed with a single, scoring Ryan. Going to extras, in the top of the tenth, after a single by B.J. Upton and moving over to second on a sacrifice groundout by Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria smashed a two-run home run into the left field bleachers. Troy Percival closed it out in the bottom of the tenth for his eleventh save of the season. Scott Kazmir started out well, but but was taken out of the game after giving up the tying run in the seventh and recieved a no decsision. Kazmir pitched six and two-thirds innings giving up all five Cardinals runs on seven hits and striking out four.

Final Score:

Rays: 7

Cardinals: 5

F/10

WP - Dan Wheeler (5-0) | LP - Russ Springer (0-1) | SV - Troy Percival (11)

HR:

Chris Duncan - Cardinals (7)

Troy Glaus - Cardinals (13)

Akinori Iwamura - Rays (3)

B.J. Upton - Rays (14)

Evan Longoria - Rays (11)

5/16 - Rays (28-14) @ Cardinals (26-17): Game 1

ST. LOUIS -- The Rays have won two in a row with a huge victory destroying the Cardinals. The Rays scored three in the first with an RBI single off the bat of Evan Longoria to score B.J. Upton followed later in the inning by an RBI single off the bat of Dioner Navarro to score Longoria and Crawford. With a 5-0 lead in the fourth, B.J. Upton blasted his thirteenth homer of the season to dead center field, a two-run shot to make it 7-0. Carlos Pena hit his twenty-fourth homer of the season in the seventh, and Carl Crawford, who went 5-5 today coming a triple away from the cycle hit his first homer of the season in the top of the eighth inning. Rays starting pitcher Edwin Jackson pitched a dominant seven innings giving up the only Cardinals run, a solo homer by Troy Glaus in the bottom of the seventh, on seven hits, and striking out three.

Final Score:

Rays: 14

Cardinals: 1

WP - Edwin Jackson (4-0) | LP - Brad Thompson (3-2) | SV - 

HR:

Troy Glaus - Cardinals (12)

B.J. Upton - Rays (13)

Carlos Pena - Rays (24)

Carl Crawford - Rays (1)

5/15 - Yankees (24-18) @ Rays (27-14): Game 4

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have finally ended their losing streak with a victory over the Yankees. The Rays scored first in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice hit by Carlos Pena to knock in Akinori Iwamura who was on third. The Yankees tied it up in the top of the second with a solo homer off the bat off Alex Rodriguez. The Rays took the lead again in the bottom of the second with an RBI double by Dioner Navarro to bring in Carl Crawford. The Rays then had a huge six run fourth capped off by a monster grand slam off the bat of Carlos Pena. The Rays would score three more runs in this game. The Yankees scored two more in the top of the eighth with RBI hits by Johhny Damon to bring in Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter to bring in Melky Cabrera. Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza pitched seven strong innings giving up just one run to the Yankees on five hits and striking out seven.

Final Score:

Yankees: 3

Rays: 9

WP - Matt Garza (3-3) | LP - Ian Kennedy (2-2) | SV -

HR:

Carlos Pena - Rays (23)

Alex Rodriguez - Yankees (16)

Crawford Returns; Rays Send Down Gomes

Carl Crawford's stay on the DL has ended and he has completely recovered from his injury. Crawford will be back with the team in time to play the fourth and final game of the series against the Yankees in Tampa Bay. To make room for Crawford on the roster, the Rays are sending back down Jonny Gomes, who took Crawford's place when Crawford had the injury.

5/14 - Yankees (23-18) @ Rays (27-13): Game 3

The Rays have now suffered their fourth loss in a row, this being the third in a row to the Yankees in Tampa Bay. The Yankees scored first in this game in the top of the first with a two-run shot by Alex Rodriguez. In the bottom of the fourth, the Rays got on the board with a solo shot by Carlos Pena to narrow the Yankees lead to one run, but the Yankees sruck again in the top of the fifth with a monster two run shot by Bobby Abreu. In the bottom of the seventh, the Rays scored one more run on an RBI hit by Rocco Baldelli knocking in Cliff Floyd, but the Yankees scored twice more including a solo shot by Jason Giambi. Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine pitched six innings giving up four of the Yankees runs on eight hits and striking out six.

Final Score:

Yankees: 6

Rays: 2

WP - Andy Pettitte (3-4) | LP - Andy Sonnanstine (2-1) | SV -

HR:

Carlos Pena - Rays (22)

Bobby Abreu - Yankees (9)

Alex Rodriguez - Yankees (15)

Jason Giambi - Yankees (8)