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Rays Get Feel-Good Victory

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 23, 2008

CHICAGO - The Rays cracked three home runs from the sixth inning on, saw Edwin Jackson work out of some pretty significant jams and made another first-place team look rather pedestrian Friday night.

In those respects, their late-arriving 9-4 victory against the White Sox certainly was a group effort. Nothing new there. But when it came to picking out the most memorable moment from the latest triumph, there wasn't much debate.

Rocco Baldelli's leadoff homer against Octavio Dotel in the eighth inning qualified as an insurance run at the time, as the Rays had already chipped their way back to take the lead by scoring once in each of the previous three innings.

But that sweet swing on a 0-1 pitch meant so much more than it represented on the scoreboard. Baldelli's fifth hit since returning from a 15-month stint on the sidelines was his first home run since May 3, 2007, against Minnesota's Ramon Ortiz. Less than two weeks later, he would be felled by a hamstring injury that spiraled into more than anyone could have imagined.

"I just want to get back in the swing of things, where I feel comfortable and it's not a big deal when I get through a game or do something well," Baldelli said. "I just want to contribute to what's going on here because it's awesome."

The Rays have eased Baldelli back into a part-time role since his return from the 60-day disabled list nearly two weeks ago, and he has looked the part: Solid but unspectacular, generally getting his job done.

But his big swing Friday night, and a subsequent single that kept a ninth-inning rally rolling, provided a glimpse of the impact bat the Rays have been missing for so long.

"As he continues to feel better about himself and what he's doing – this guy's really good. He's not just OK; he's an All-Star-caliber player," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "So as we get him back wholly, there's no telling what he can do by the end of this year."

If more playing time breeds more comfort, Baldelli could very well end up a significant contributor to the Rays' stretch drive. He certainly adds a different element to a proven formula.

As always, starting pitching was at the root of it Friday as Jackson became the Rays' fourth 10-game winner. The right-hander was hardly at his sharpest, walking five (to tie his season high) and putting multiple runners on base in each of the first four innings. But he summoned his newfound ability to shake off difficult situations and minimize the damage, surrendering only two runs on a full-count homer by Nick Swisher in the fourth.

The White Sox gave Jackson a hefty assist by running themselves out of that inning when they had the Rays' starter on the ropes, as both Juan Uribe and Orlando Cabrera were caught stealing. Jackson also had some help from his defense, getting an inning-ending double play in the third after he had walked a pair and following a leadoff walk in the fifth with another twin-killing.

Unsightly as it was at times, Jackson has given up just four runs in 19 innings his past three times out. It seems he has learned how to win.

"Last year, I let it get to me," said Jackson. "Now, it's that time of the year, we've worked so hard, you just have to say [forget] it and go on guts. If things don't work out the way you want them to, just say [forget] it and go on to the next hitter. You can't really harp on it."

Once Jackson got everything sorted out, all he needed was a bit of run support, and the Rays finally broke through on John Danks once the game hit the midway point. , and the Rays finally broke through on John Danks once the game hit the midway point.

The lefty held the visitors scoreless through four before Akinori Iwamura broke the dam with a two-out triple in the fifth that scored Dioner Navarro. Carlos Pena led off the following inning with his 26th homer to tie the game, and the Rays finally took the lead in the seventh.

Navarro led off the inning with a double down the line in left and narrowly avoided being doubled off second when Swisher snared a sharp liner by Gabe Gross. Navarro's awareness paid off moments later when Jason Bartlett hammered one to left, one-hopping the wall for a double that made it 3-2 Rays.

It looked as if that edge would disappear immediately when Chad Bradford got into trouble in the bottom half of the inning. But Grant Balfour came on with two on and one out and struck out Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye to preserve the lead.

"I've got a lot of respect for both of those guys, but that's my job, is to come in and face guys like that," said Balfour. "I was happy to get the job done tonight."

Baldelli was the first man up after Balfour fanned Dye on a 95 mph heater, and he lined one 375 feet to left. Willy Aybar added a double and Ben Zobrist drove Dotel from the game about as quickly as he had arrived, blasting a full-count offering 404 feet to right-center to bump the lead to 6-2.

J.P. Howell gave two of those runs back in his first appearance in nearly a week, but the first three Rays hitters in the ninth reached base and scored, capped by Baldelli's second run of the game.

"We've played a lot of games like this this year," said Maddon. "The big difference is this game's on the road, and that's the area that we had to get better at, was playing away from home."

Friday's win brought the Rays back even at 31-31 on the road this season, and their 12-6 mark away from home since the All-Star break is the best in the majors.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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