Rays Sting Marlins… Again

Marlins lose to the Rays again, forcing us to make yet another "sting" pun

An imprint in the pattern of baseball stitches was visible on Evan Longoria's upper left arm, a souvenir from an inside pitch he failed to avoid in the ninth inning.

The Tampa Bay Rays' 10-3 win eased the pain.

"It hit me right in the meat," he said. "That's a good spot."

After winning 15-2 Friday, the Rays benefited from another dismal performance by the slumping Marlins. Florida walked nine, hit a batter, balked home a run, committed three errors and allowed Tampa Bay to break a 3-all tie in the eighth with an unearned run.

Akinori Iwamura walked against Leo Nunez to start the inning and advanced on a sacrifice. First baseman Jorge Cantu mishandled a grounder to put runners at the corners, and Longoria followed with a single.

The Rays added six runs in the ninth, including four off Matt Lindstrom, who balked in a run.

"That's a very tough ballclub over there, and they took it to us pretty good these past two nights," Lindstrom said. "We just have to find a way to respond."

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez was lucky to miss his team's latest loss. He was out of town to attend his daughter's high school graduation, and Florida played no better for bench coach Carlos Tosca.

Since an 11-1 start, the Marlins have gone 8-24.

"It has certainly been a struggle," infielder Wes Helms said. "But it's something you have to battle through. It's not something you can just wish away. You just have to keep working hard every night."

Even in better times Florida has struggled against the Rays, losing seven in a row in the Citrus Series. During that stretch the Marlins have been outscored by the Rays 68-19.

Tampa Bay won despite stranding 15 runners. The Rays, who entered leading the majors in runs, struggled to scratch out two against Sean West, who went five innings in his major league debut.

"It was like a dream being out there and facing guys like Longoria who you watched on TV last fall," West said.

The Rays had better luck against the Marlins' beleaguered bullpen, scoring off four relievers. Grant Balfour struck out the only batter he faced for the win.


 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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