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Another Statement Delivered With Ease

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 7, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - ST. PETERSBURG - Impressive as the Rays have been in their giant-killing this season, from sweeping the Red Sox twice at home to handling the division-leading Cubs and Angels with ease at Tropicana Field, they're in the midst of another important statement now.

In blowing out the Royals 9-2 Sunday afternoon, the Rays assured themselves yet another series win while reinforcing the notion that they aren't inclined to play down to lesser competition.

"I think we're finally learning that it doesn't matter who you're playing or which particular day it may be, you have to play the same game, with the same kind of preparation and intensity," Manager Joe Maddon said. "If you want to play the last game of the season, you'd better well understand that point, because that's what you've got to do."

How Tampa Bay would react to a series it entered as a clear favorite hadn't really been determined on the way to first place because the Rays' schedule had been so difficult. The four-game set with Kansas City that concludes today opened a stretch in which the Rays will play 25 of 33 games against teams that currently hold losing records.

In other words, this stretch on either side of the All-Star break represents a chance for the Rays to build up a little cushion to compensate for any potential slump during the dog days of August - and they certainly began this stretch as well as could be expected.

The Rays' current seven-game winning streak is the second-longest in club history, trailing only their 12-game run from June 9-22, 2004. They have taken 17 of their past 21 games to reach 55 victories this season - a mark they didn't hit until Aug. 31 last season. Their victory total matches their total output for the entire 2002 season, when they finished 48 games out.

So, yes, the Rays have seen series like this one from the opposite side plenty of times in their existence. And that lingering memory of what the Rays were as recently as a year ago undoubtedly makes it easier for them to stay geared up for every game.

They made their statement in the third inning Sunday. Starter James Shields had allowed a couple of two-out runs the inning before to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead and the Rays had pulled one back in the bottom half, though they should have had more.

Two big hits in the third, both coming with two outs - a two-run double by Carlos Pena followed immediately by Evan Longoria's 16th homer of the season - made it 5-2 and there was no looking back.

"Right now, theory is coming together with reality," Maddon said. "Just the whole vibe in the dugout right now, and the clubhouse, is excellent."

By the time the Rays began to pull away on a two-out, two-run double by B.J. Upton in the fourth, the Royals' collective body language suggested the game already was lost.

That point was reinforced in the sixth, when Akinori Iwamura yanked a ball down the right-field line and into the corner that Mark Teahen pursued casually. Teahen picked up the ball as if he assumed Iwamura would just take the double in a 7-2 game, but the Rays' leadoff man never slowed up and cruised into third. His hustle paid off when Carl Crawford followed with a liner to left that was deep enough to allow Iwamura to score as the throw from David DeJesus sailed well off-target.

Just as they had in tacking on four late runs to pull away in Friday's series opener, the Rays didn't appear to ease up at any point - a departure from years past, serving as yet another indication of their substantially improved outlook and approach.

"I really believe, deep down in my heart, that the youth of this team is what's going to carry us through to the end of the season and on past that," catcher Shawn Riggans said. "You get a whole bunch of young guys together, nobody wants to be outdone and everybody's hungry."

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

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