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Jackson Dominant For Rays Against Blue Jays

The Associated Press

Left fielder Eric Hinske makes a diving catch on a fly ball by Toronto's Joe Inglett.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - You know you've got something going when the opposition has a good idea what's coming but can't do anything about it.

That's where Edwin Jackson is these days, with a sense for pitching and an ability to maintain composure finally complementing the blazing stuff that has tantalized since he reached the majors as a kid five years ago.

Much like the team he has helped elevate this season, Jackson has established himself as a pitcher who is going to bring it every time he takes the field and challenge you to beat him. Most of the time lately, he has come out on top, as he did Thursday night at Tropicana Field.

Pounding away at the strike zone with one mid-90s fastball after another, Jackson picked up his sixth victory in seven starts as Tampa Bay held off Toronto 3-2.

As the Rays' 81st win guaranteed what had become a foregone conclusion — that they would not suffer their 11th consecutive losing season — they put some more distance between themselves and the Red Sox and saw Jackson continue to build confidence that could serve him well in the postseason.

"In the league, everyone can hit a fastball, and I throw a fastball," Jackson said. "It's just a matter of keeping them off the fastball, just putting the benefit of the doubt in their head."

That can be done by mixing in an effective slider, which Jackson did on occasion Thursday. But having a fastball that's darting all over the place while getting to the plate as quickly as Jackson's does will do the trick, as well.

The elusiveness of his deliveries Thursday manifested itself in a steady diet of pop-ups off the bats of Toronto's hitters. Only three of the 21 outs he recorded came on a groundball, as most of the Blue Jays batters had trouble squaring up on Jackson's heat.

"That's just life on the ball," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "[Catcher Shawn Riggans] came back and said, listen, his ball's moving all over the place, it's definitely not straight, and it's just doing a whole bunch of different things. That's when you get the mis-hit."

Jackson's best work may have come in the sixth, which saw Toronto put runners on the corners with nobody out after a leadoff double by Vernon Wells and an Adam Lind single. Jackson (11-8) was fortunate to have the streaking Lyle Overbay line one straight at Jason Bartlett for the first out, and he followed it by getting Rod Barajas to pop out and Jose Bautista to ground out to Willy Aybar.

Many in the crowd of 14,039 at the Trop gave Jackson a standing ovation after he successfully navigated that mess, and the gesture was repeated when he exited the game following a leadoff double by Alex Rios in the eighth.

The Rays ended up requiring the services of three more pitchers before that frame came to an end. Groundball specialist Chad Bradford did his thing to retire Wells, but Lind followed with an infield hit that scored Rios for the visitors' first run. Trever Miller came on to strike out Overbay before giving way to Grant Balfour, who allowed a full-count RBI double to Barajas that cut Tampa Bay's lead to one.

But Balfour rallied to get a called third strike on Bautista, maintaining the Rays' edge, and Dan Wheeler turned in another spotless ninth to secure his 10th save.

With the win, the Rays remained unbeaten in 12 series since the All-Star break and bumped their lead over the Red Sox back to 4 1/2 games thanks to Boston's loss earlier in the day at Yankee Stadium.

For the Rays to secure a playoff spot and make some noise once they get there, they know they'll need continued excellence out of their rotation along the lines of the showings turned in by Jackson and Matt Garza the last two nights.

"We're going to go pretty much as far as they take us," said Cliff Floyd. "They pretty much have held down the fort the whole season. Without them, there's no Rays in first place. It's just where it starts."
Indeed, the work turned in most nights by the starters has allowed the Rays to win games in which the opposing pitcher turns in a decent outing of his own.

Pinellas Park's Jesse Litsch flirted with such a performance, working out of some jams for the Blue Jays in his 6 2/3 innings, but he was victimized by the longball. Floyd and Aybar each cranked solo homers off the right-hander, and Floyd drove in the other Rays run with a first-inning sacrifice fly that scored Akinori Iwamura.

That opening frame was truly a tone-setter this time, as Eric Hinske opened the game with a diving catch in left to rob Joe Inglett of extra bases and Jackson started pounding the kind of quality strikes he would throw all night.

"A lot of 95s," Maddon said of the radar gun readings. "I like when he does that. I like when he goes out there and is aggressive early in the game."

The way it has been going, Jackson might as well keep hammering until opposing hitters prove they can handle him. That style suits him, and the hard-charging Rays as well.

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

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