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Rays Win A Crowd-Pleaser

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

Updated: 06/18/2008 12:23 am

ST. PETERSBURG - One professional-looking banner unfurled near the Rays' dugout during batting practice proclaimed the three-game set that began Tuesday night a World Series preview.

It took a while, but the intensity at Tropicana Field approached postseason levels in the ninth inning. A crowd of 31,607 just about evenly split in its allegiances between the Rays and Cubs roared in unison, melding the thrill of victory and agony of defeat in one moment.

That decision went the Rays' way as Evan Longoria charged in from third, bare-handing a gorgeous bunt by Reed Johnson on a dead run and firing a one-hopper into Willy Aybar's midsection as Kosuke Fukudome sprinted home with what would have been the tying run.

Instead, it became a walk-off grounder of sorts. Aybar corralled the throw just before Johnson crossed the bag, preserving a 3-2 Rays victory that cued the kind of celebration usually reserved for game-ending home runs.

It meant that much to the Rays to beat the team with the best record in baseball, and do so in exactly the type of game that usually ended poorly for Lou Piniella when he occupied the opposite dugout at the Trop. It's no revelation that things have changed for the Rays, but this was just another example of the breaks going their way like they never have before.

Take the final play. Though Rays coaches were signaling from the bench for Longoria to be aware of a bunt attempt by Johnson, he never saw them. He was about three strides behind the bag when Chicago's leadoff man squared around, and he had a long way to sprint before picking up the ball.

"I was pressing the panic button," Longoria said. "That's the game on the line right there. He got down a good bunt, and I was just trying to pick it up off the turf and make a play."

He did it then, just as he had in leading off the sixth inning with a home run that broke a 1-1 tie and give the Rays a lead that wasn't in serious jeopardy until closer Troy Percival got into trouble protecting a 3-1 edge in the ninth.

A one-out single by Mark DeRosa and a double by a pinch-hitting Fukudome moved the runs that would have tied the game into scoring position, and DeRosa came home when a high Percival fastball ticked off Dioner Navarro's glove for a passed ball. Fukudome nearly scored in similar fashion when another delivery got by Navarro, but he stayed at third until Johnson came to the plate.

The thrilling ending was in sharp contrast to a game that mostly plodded along, with starters Scott Kazmir and Ryan Dempster failing to make it into the sixth inning.

The game was tied when they departed, Dempster having surrendered a solo homer in the second inning to Cliff Floyd and the visitors answering in the fifth when Aybar tried to do a little too much at a still-unfamiliar position. The converted third baseman left his feet trying to reach a ball off Ryan Theriot's bat when he should have covered the bag. The ball glanced off Aybar's glove and eluded Akinori Iwamura, allowing a run to score.

Grant Balfour came on for what at the time appeared to be the biggest out of the game, getting a called third strike on Aramis Ramirez to end the inning. He followed that with a perfect sixth before handing it off to J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler and Percival.

All the Rays needed from the time Balfour came on was a run to break the tie, and they got one in each of the next two innings. Longoria's homer on the first pitch delivered by reliever Neal Cotts in the sixth put the Rays on top and nearly landed in the ray tank in center field. A single by Eric Hinske added a crucial bit of insurance in the seventh.

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

trib.com.

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