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Rays Don't Knuckle Under To Boston's Wakefield

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - This season has been one long epiphany for the Rays.

They've figured out how to pitch, play defense and compete in their division. As Wednesday night's 10-3 victory against the Red Sox showed, they've apparently finally figured out tricky knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Wakefield, at 42 the third oldest pitcher since 1956 to start and win at Fenway Park, had befuddled the Rays for years. Entering Wednesday's game, he was 19-4 against them, including 9-2 at Tropicana Field.

His 2.45 ERA at the Trop was his lowest in any opponent's ballpark.

This time, with the AL East division crown at stake, the Rays weren't fooled. They chased Wakefield (9-11) in 2 1/3 innings with six earned runs, with most coming on home runs by Willy Aybar, Gabe Gross and Fernando Perez.

Other than a two-inning tune-up for the playoff-bound Sox in September 2003, this was the shortest of Wakefield's 17 starts at the Trop.

"Obviously, it's not easy to go up there and hit that knuckleball," said Carlos Pena, whose sacrifice fly in the first inning got the Rays their first run. "Today we were able to put the barrel on the ball, simple as that."

The Rays beat Wakefield earlier this year at home, but Wakefield pitched well in that one. The trick-baller gave up only one earned run in seven innings, as Tampa Bay prevailed 3-1.

This time, the Rays showed Wakefield why they are 55-22 at home in 2008.

"They're not the team we're used to playing," Wakefield said. "They're very, very good."

Rays manager Joe Maddon played a hunch in starting Aybar, who had never faced Wakefield. Aybar's two-run 397-foot homer in the bottom of the first gave the Rays a 3-2 lead. They wouldn't trail again.

"We worked good at-bats," Maddon said. "Of course, the home runs were big. Willy jumping on that pitch turned the momentum of the game around."

Pena said the Rays were joking in the dugout before Aybar's first at-bat, recalling a popular game in the Dominican Republic played with bottle caps and sticks.

"We were like, 'hey, man, Willy has played a lot of bottle caps with sticks. This is a good matchup,'" Pena related.

"Oh, then he hits the home run. That was huge."

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