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Enduring Rays, Pena Slay Another Monster

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By JOE HENDERSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2008

BOSTON - As the ball left his bat and arched high and deep toward the Green Monster, Carlos Pena thought to himself, "Just hit the wall." He wasn't sure he had hit it hard enough or high enough, but it turned out to be just enough.

Of course it did.

That's how it has worked all summer for these Rays, and that's how it worked again as Wednesday night turned to Thursday morning on a crisp New England night. Pena's shot in the 14th inning cleared that big green wall and three runs scored because of it.

It's tempting to use the Monster as a metaphorical hurdle and say the Rays cleared that, too, because his home run was enough to help the this team to a 4-2 victory and two of three against the Red Sox. It's the first time they've won a series here since 1999.

It seems like everything is a first for a team so used to finishing last, but it seems the Rays have more answers than there are questions that remain. They showed it here this week when all the baseball world said they were crumbling, buckling under the pressure of being a first-time contender.

"To have not won that game after how we played tonight would have been an absolute crime," Rays manager Joe Maddon said, and to not finish the job now by winning the American League East would be equally deflating. There is much work remaining, of course, but they leave here with the Red Sox 2 1/2 games behind.

It wasn't supposed to be like that, not here. The Rays had lost six consecutive games here this season (they made it seven by losing 3-0 Monday night). But the world found out what those who watch this team regularly have known all along.

"We were in a little bit of rut [coming here] but we stayed with it," Pena said. "We were loose, we were confident, we were enjoying ourselves despite the situation we were in. And now we won the series. What a great comeback. It's huge for us."

Just Hung In

Most teams would have surrendered long before Pena got a chance to win it. The Rays are in one of those tough spells, their lineup decimated by injuries that have taken out most of the middle of the order. They were 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position before Pena's homer, 1-for-35 in the series.

Make that 2-for-36.

So how, exactly, does a team do that and still take the series from the defending world champions in their own house? It starts on the mound, where the Rays got outstanding pitching this whole series.

Andy Sonnanstine was tremendous Wednesday, allowing only an unearned run in seven innings.

"Probably as good as I've seen him," Maddon said.

Seven relievers followed. No Red Sox scored.

You may want to put the bottom of the 14th in a time capsule for safe keeping. That's when Jason Hammel was summoned as emergency relief when Troy Percival went down again with a stiff back.

The Red Sox had loaded the bases with no one out against Percival. Hammel is kind of the pitcher of last resort in these situations, a mop-up man most of the time. Just last week he allowed five runs against the Yankees in the ninth inning, including two homers.

That was then. He had to be aces here. A loss would have been devastating after Pena's homer.

Hammel was more than up to the task.

He got Kevin Youkilis on a sacrifice fly, struck out Jason Bay, and as the scoreboard clock showed 12:02 a.m., Alex Cora flew out softly to center to end it.

"My God," Maddon said. "Coming in with the bases loaded at that point in the batting order, to do what he did after what had happened to him in the recent past, that was truly a tremendous performance."

It was.

"I just wanted to go in there and attack," Hammel said. "That's basically been my whole mindset – attack hitters, hit it if you can."

They couldn't.

Keep Overcoming

This team has had so many chances to fold.

They've won without Carl Crawford, without Evan Longoria. They won without Scott Kazmir for a month. Percival has been an ongoing problem. They held together when Pena went out. When Jason Bartlett was hurt.

B.J. Upton is hurt now. Shawn Riggans had to have surgery on his infected knee.

But they endure. They overcome.

It's already becoming one of the best stories in baseball history – a perpetual loser beats all the odds. If this keeps up for just a little while longer, it will go past the point of explanation.

There was Tuesday's amazing performance by Dan Johnson and Fernando Perez. That was a game for the ages.

So was this.

"It's hard to top last night, but we may have," Maddon said.

Of course they did. That's how it works with this team. You might as well stop trying to figure out how it keeps happening.

This isn't something you explain any more. Besides, the experience is so much better than the talk.

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