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Jays' Marcum Shuts Down Rays

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Teammates and Toronto fans applaud starting pitcher Shaun Marcum after shutting down the Rays Wednesday night.

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

Updated: 05/08/2008 10:19 am

TORONTO - For more than 20 minutes following Wednesday night's game, Joe Maddon and Carlos Pena chatted in the manager's office with the door closed.

Maddon was not offering swing tips to the slugger, who has accumulated strikeouts at a staggering pace the last three games. When it comes to his erudite first baseman, Maddon prefers to focus on more existential matters.

"All he wants for me to do is go out there and enjoy myself and not put too much pressure on myself," Pena said after the meeting. "Just make sure I come out and have fun out there. Those are his words. He talks about how, subconsciously, sometimes you might have things in your mind, but he just wants me to go out there and play free, and I think it's awesome."

Pena was hardly alone Wednesday when it came to Rays hitters unable to get the job done. The Blue Jays' 6-2 victory at Rogers Centre was highlighted by the dominance of Toronto starter Shaun Marcum, who allowed only two Rays to reach base in the first eight innings before losing his grip on the cusp of victory.

But it was Pena who grounded out to end the top of the seventh, keeping the game scoreless, after B.J. Upton had walked and stolen second to give the Rays a man in scoring position for the first time.

And it was Pena who struck out to end the game with Upton on second base after doubling home a pair of runs and driving Marcum from the game one out short of completion. That whiff against reliever Scott Downs was Pena's 10th strikeout in his last 12 trips to the plate dating back to Sunday's game in Boston, leading to questions about what had gone wrong.

So it was Pena who was summoned to Maddon's office, where the manager apparently reiterated and expanded upon the support for his cleanup hitter he had expressed earlier to reporters.

"I just think he's out of the zone a little bit," Maddon said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with his swing, per se; it's just that he's opening up and swinging at too many pitches now. Once he gets his discipline back, he'll be fine. It's not about changing anything, it's just about going back to where he had been."

Indeed, Pena had a seven-game hitting streak heading into the Toronto series only to see it dashed by a four-strikeout night Tuesday.

But his home run Sunday at Fenway Park - one hit in the midst of three strikeouts - was his first since April 12, the second-longest longball drought of his career. Had Pena begun to press too much, trying to lift an offense that hasn't been clicking lately by putting all the weight on his shoulders?

"At times, maybe so," Pena acknowledged. "Sometimes you think that you are clear mentally ... but it's easier said than done. ...

"So what, you've had two days that have been kind of tough, the last two days. Beyond that, you had two weeks straight of great swings, great contact, great at-bats. Am I going to define myself because of the last two days that I've had? It's not practical to even think that way. Throw it out the window and let's just come back and play tomorrow."

That's what Pena plans to do tonight as the Rays wrap up a lengthy AL East tour in which they have gone 3-5 in Baltimore, Boston and Toronto.

The Rays got enough starting pitching to win Wednesday, as Matt Garza matched zeroes with Marcum through six innings before allowing a run in the seventh. It was the bullpen that let the game get out of hand, with the Blue Jays scoring five times off three relievers as they batted around in the eighth.

But the Rays are going to need a bit more offense than they've gotten lately, and it would be a lot easier to move some runs across the plate with their most powerful hitter making contact. Pena believes he will get there.

"I had the last two at-bats there today and I'm like, 'You know what, that actually felt pretty good,' but, obviously, if you go to the box scores you're going to be like, 'Aw, damn,'" Pena said. "So it's really what goes on inside that's more important."

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

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