Sports
Wheeler Crucial In Steadying Rays Bullpen
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Published: October 12, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG Dan Wheeler may not be a true closer, but he may have saved the Rays' season Saturday night.
The man who has been getting most of the ninth-inning work for injured Troy Percival held the hot-hitting Red Sox scoreless for 3 1/2 innings – his longest outing as a Ray – and it was the most important piece of pitching in Tampa Bay's 9-8 11th-inning victory.
"He was awesome tonight," fellow reliever Grant Balfour said of Wheeler. "He came in and not only did he eat up innings, he threw up zeroes as well. He gave us every opportunity to win and we finally came through."
Wheeler, pitching on nine days' rest because he wasn't needed through the Rays' first five postseason games, came on four pitchers after starter Scott Kazmir was knocked out in the fifth inning and left before rookie David Price picked up his first major-league victory.
He got the ball with two on and none out in the eighth after Dustin Pedroia led off with a single off Chad Bradford and Trever Miller walked David Ortiz. After getting torrid Kevin Youkilis to hit into a double play, Miller threw a pitch over catcher Dioner Navarro that allowed Pedroia to score from third.
That tied the game 8-8, and from there, Miller retired eight of the next nine batters he faced until walking Jed Lowrie with one out in the 11th.
The Rays only had two pitchers remaining, and Price, the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year, came on for Wheeler. After walking J.D. Drew, Price struck out Mark Kotsay and got dangerous Coco Crisp to ground out.
B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning scored pinch-runner Fernando Perez from third, and the Rays tied the series 1-1 heading to Boston.
"Going up there down 0-2, that's obviously something we didn't want to do," Wheeler said.
About his wild pitch, Wheeler said he made a mistake but wouldn't allow himself to dwell on it. "You have to keep grinding it out," he said.
Wheeler's stint was his longest since he pitched 4 1/3 innings at Colorado in 2004 while with the Mets. It was his longest postseason appearance, surpassing a 3-inning effort for Houston in 2005 against Atlanta.
Bullpen mate J.P. Howell said he was most impressed by the way Wheeler remained unfazed by the pressure of the game.
"He got a bit out to finish his second or third inning, and I remember, I was amped. I looked at him and there was no emotion," Howell said.
Wheeler's work gave the Rays a chance against a Boston bullpen that shut them down from the sixth through 10th innings after starter Josh Beckett gave up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Not until the Red Sox practically ran out of pitchers and threw up 42-year-old Mike Timlin in the 11th did the Rays finally break through.
"If you're down 2-0 and the tank's empty, it's a little tough," Balfour said. "But we tied the series 1-1. Both teams used up a lot of pitching, but it's squared up."
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