J.P. Out At The Ballgame
Friday, September 19, 2008
This is Jason Pafundi reporting for Baseball Digest Daily live at Tropicana Field in
Starting Pitchers
TB: Edwin Jackson (11-11, 4.33)
MIN: Nick Blackburn (10-9, 3.89)
PRE-GAME NOTES
- With a win tonight over the Twins, coupled with losses tonight by the White Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays, the Rays would clinch a spot in the post-season for the first time in team history
- Sunday’s game, the last home game of the regular season, is sold out, making it the seventh sell-out of the season
- Rays manager Joe Maddon said OF BJ Upton “might” be ready for Saturday, but if not, he’ll be in the lineup on Sunday afternoon
- Rays starter Edwin Jackson is 0-3 with a 10.95 ERA in September
- The Rays announced LHP David Price and OF Fernando Perez as their Organization Pitcher and Player of the Year award winners
TOP OF THE 1ST
It’s something that we are always talking about, but the fact that tonight’s game, one in which the Rays can clinch a postseason berth, is not sold out, that is embarrassing to me. Edwin Jackson needs to get off to a good start. A walk to leadoff hitter Denard Span isn’t what I had in mind. Alexi Casilla pops foul to first for the first out of the inning. Joe Mauer singles to left. Jackson isn’t looking sharp so far tonight. Jackson recovers and gets Justin Morneau, who could be the AL MVP again this year, swinging for the second out. The inning ends with Jason Kubel lining out to second. Jackson threw 21 pitches in the first inning. 0-0
BOTTOM OF THE 1ST
Akinori Iwamura leads off with a triple down the line and off the wall in left. SS Jason Bartlett knocks in Iwamura with a groundout to short. There is a pretty good crowd now, and people seem to keep arriving. We’ll see how close it comes to the 36,048 fans needed for a sellout. Carlos Pena doubles down the line in right. Evan Longoria, who hit three home runs yesterday, hits a ground-rule double down the line in right, which scores Pena. Nick Blackburn might not be long for this game, as he has allowed three extra-base hits to the first four batters. Cliff Floyd singles to left-center, scoring Longoria. The inning ends as Dioner Navarro grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Blackburn threw 19 pitches. 3-0 Rays
TOP OF THE 2ND
Young strikes out swinging to lead off the inning. Matt Tolbert and Nick Punto ground out, so Jackson has a quick inning, and that should really help him. He has thrown 37 pitches through two innings. 3-0 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 2ND
Gabe Gross leads off with an infield single to short. Eric Hinske walks, putting two runners on for Fernando Perez. Perez sacrifices the runners, and the Twins then walk Iwamura intentionally. Bartlett makes them pay with an RBI single to left. The bases are still loaded with only one out. The Twins have Boof Bonser, who went to high school in St. Petersburg, warming up in the bullpen, but Blackburn stays in to face Pena. Blackburn walks Pena to score Hinske. That’s all for Blackburn, so it’s now up to Bonser to keep the Twins remotely close in this game. Longoria flies out to left field, allowing Bartlett to score. Pena is thrown out trying to advance to third to end the inning. 6-0 Rays
TOP OF THE 3RD
Carlos Gomez flies out to Perez in center to lead off the inning. Span pops to Longoria in foul territory for the second out. Casilla flies out to Perez to end the inning. Jackson through nine pitches that inning, and has thrown 48 for the game through three innings. 6-0 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 3RD
Floyd grounded out sharply to first to lead off the inning. Navarro flied out to left for the second out. Gross pops up to second to end the inning. That was quick and easy for Bonser. 6-0 Rays
TOP OF THE 4TH
Mauer flies out to left to start the inning. Jackson has really settled in since the first. Morneau singled to center but Kubel grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Jackson has thrown 62 pitches through four innings. 6-0 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 4TH
Hinske walks to lead off the inning. Perez struck out for the first out of the inning. Iwamura walks, putting two runners on for Bartlett. He strikes out swinging on a ball in the dirt for the second out. Pena hits a ball that is ruled a double on the field. It’s time for the second replay at Tropicana Field. In the press box, the replays seem to show the ball hitting the hands of a fan, above the yellow line on the fence. After review, the call on the field is reversed. It’s a three-run homer for Pena, his 31st of the season. The review took 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Longoria lines out to second to end the inning. 9-0 Rays
TOP OF THE 5TH
Young leads off the fifth with a single to center. Tolbert hits a liner snagged by Iwamura, who fires quickly to first to double-off Young. Two outs. Punto strikes out swinging to end the inning. Jackson has thrown 73 pitches through five innings. 9-0 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 5TH
Floyd grounds out to lead off the inning. Navarro grounds out to second for the second out. Gross singles to right with two outs. Hinske strikes out swinging to end the inning. 9-0 Rays
TOP OF THE 6TH
Gomez is called out on strikes to start the inning. Span beats out a grounder to shortstop with one out. Casilla singles to right, with Span going to third. Casilla advanced to second on Gross’ throw. This is the first bit of trouble for Jackson since the first. Mauer hits a sacrifice fly to left, scoring the first run for the Twins. Morneau hits a bouncer toward first that Jackson fields awkwardly. He scampers to first to end the inning. He has thrown 90 pitches through six innings. Around the league, the Yankees are leading the Orioles, the White Sox lead the Royals, and the Red Sox and Jays are tied. None of those help the Rays clinch tonight. 9-1 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 6TH
Craig Breslow is now pitching for the Twins. Perez leads off with a single to left-center. Iwamura reaches on an error by Casilla, putting two runners on with nobody out. Bartlett walks to load the bases for Pena, who already has a three-run homer tonight. Pena strikes out looking for the first out. Longoria grounds into a fielder’s choice, scoring Perez. Willy Aybar is pinch-hitting for Floyd. Aybar reaches on an error by Casilla, scoring Iwamura. There are runners on first and second with two outs. Casilla has made two errors in the inning. Navarro flies to center to end the inning. 11-1 Rays
TOP OF THE 7TH
Randy Ruiz pinch hits for Kubel to lead off the inning. He grounds out to second. Tolbert singles with one out. Jason Pridie pinch hits for Young and grounds out to second. Former Ray Brendan Harris pinch hits for Punto. Harris goes down swinging to end the inning. Jackson has thrown 102 pitches through seven innings. 11-1 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 7TH
Jose Mijares is the new pitcher for the Twins. Gross pops foul to third for the first out. Justin Ruggiano, who entered as a defensive replacement, grounds out for the second out. Perez grounds out to short to end the inning. 11-1 Rays
TOP OF THE 8TH
Gomez lines out to open the inning. Span singles to center with one out. Casilla flies out for the second out of the inning. Jackson leaves to a standing ovation, replaced by Jeff Niemann. Ryan Jorgensen, replacing Mauer, flies out to right to end the inning. Jackson threw 114 pitches. 11-1 Rays
BOTTOM OF THE 8TH
Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, along with “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs and current WWE superstar John Cena are in attendance tonight. They were just shown on the scoreboard cheering on the Rays. Tonight’s attendance was announced at just over 28,000. That is unacceptable. Bobby Korecky is now pitching for the Rays. Ben Zobrist, who entered as a defensive replacement, singles to right to lead off the inning. Bartlett walks, putting two runners on with nobody out. Dan Johnson, now playing first for the Rays, flies out to right. Pinch hitter John Jaso grounds into a 5-3 double play to end the inning. 11-1 Rays
TOP OF THE 9TH
Matt Marci grounds out to third to open the top of the ninth.
WP: Jackson (12-11)
LP: Blackburn (10-10)
S: NONE
Time of Game: 2 hours 58 minutes
Attendance: 28,306
POST-GAME NOTES
- The Rays can clinch at least a share of the wild card with a win on Saturday afternoon against the Twins
