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Bullpen Aces First Postseason Test

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The revamped bullpen that has played such a huge role in the Rays' turnaround passed its first postseason test rather emphatically.

Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell and Dan Wheeler backed up James Shields by retiring nine of the 10 batters they faced in the final three innings - striking out five - to preserve the most valuable lead the Rays have held all season.

"They've been doing it the whole year," C Dioner Navarro said. "We didn't expect nothing more or nothing less."

Balfour's work in the seventh was as impressive a showing as he has produced all year. Wheeler called Balfour's high-octane strikeouts of Juan Uribe and Orlando Cabrera a "game-saver" for the Rays.

"That kind of woke me up," Howell said of Balfour's outing, which preceded a 1-2-3 eighth inning by the lefty in his playoff debut.

Wheeler surrendered a leadoff homer to Paul Konerko in the ninth but retired the next three batters for his first postseason save in 14 playoff appearances.

It played out just as the Rays had hoped, with the miseries of last year's 6.16 bullpen ERA - the worst in the last 50 years - long forgotten by now.

"If we can do that, then we're in good shape," Balfour said. "That's what we want to do."

PENA OK: 1B Carlos Pena is expected to return tonight after leaving Thursday's game in the second inning with blurred vision - the result of accidentally scratching his left eye at home Wednesday night.

Pena said he felt something in his eye and began to rub it, but that caused "excruciating pain" and prompted him to call Rays head trainer Ron Porterfield. A visit to the eye doctor confirmed Pena had scratched his cornea and he was told it would probably take about 24 hours to heal.

"I was counting and it didn't really add up to 24 hours" before Thursday's game, said Pena. "But I felt like I wanted to try."

After striking out in his first at-bat and having trouble seeing throws from the infielders, he felt the situation was "borderline dangerous" and informed Porterfield, prompting Manager Joe Maddon to remove him from the game. Pena is wearing a clear contact lens on the eye for protection and using antibiotic drops, which he hopes will speed his recovery.

Willy Aybar replaced Pena and came up big, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly and scoring another after a fifth-inning single.

PITCHING BY INSTINCT: LHP Scott Kazmir enters Game 2 coming off two rough outings sandwiched around a win in the playoff-clinching victory against Minnesota on Sept. 20.

Since he insists he's fine physically, Kazmir will try to work on his mental approach - specifically not to outthink himself on the mound.

"You get three or four outings where you think it's mechanical, and the next thing you know, you think about everything that's going on with your delivery," he said. "You just really need to simplify it and concentrate on hitting the spot."

HIGH-RISER: LHP David Price didn't make his major-league debut until Sept. 14, but he was one of 10 pitchers selected for the Division Series roster and grateful to be included.

"They've shown faith in me all year," Price said. "Throwing me out there at Yankee Stadium, giving me a start, they've shown a lot of faith in me, so I appreciate that."

Maddon said he likely will reserve Price for long relief - either backing up a starter knocked out early in a game or working in extra innings.

FOR THE LONG HAUL: Principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the Rays will be able to continue to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox and others in the AL East, despite the huge disparity in payrolls.

"I expect to, yeah," he said before Thursday's game. "Is it possible to win 97 games year in and out? I doubt it. But we're sure going to try."

Asked if he's concerned that the Yankees, left out of the postseason for the first time since 1993, will spend even more than this year's $209 million on players, Sternberg said he doesn't think it will make a difference.

"We just have to worry about ourselves," he said.

NOTEWORTHY: Maddon said he still hadn't decided how to set up his platoon spots for tonight's game against LHP Mark Buehrle. He will go with either Rocco Baldelli in right field and Aybar at DH or Fernando Perez in right and Baldelli at DH. ... Jackson and Jason Hammel will pitch today in the Instructional League as they stay in shape in case they are needed later in the playoffs. Troy Percival is slated to pitch there Saturday and as such will not travel with the Rays to Chicago.

Marc Lancaster, Tony Fabrizio

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