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After Huge Win, Rays Suffer Emotional Letdown

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Willy Aybar loses his glove between the legs of Minnesota's Joe Mauer during the first inning.

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays celebrated like there was no tomorrow after clinching a postseason berth Saturday night.

The only problem: There was a tomorrow. And when it came Sunday, they weren't very good.

With Manager Joe Maddon giving most of the regular infield the day off defensively, the Rays wasted another strong outing by right-hander Andy Sonnanstine with a poor day at the plate and some sloppy defense and fell to the Minnesota Twins 4-1.

The first loss in 22 games in front of a Tropicana Field crowd of 30,000-plus - the game drew a sellout crowd of 36,048 - was hardly inconsequential.

Although a playoff berth is in the bag, the Rays still are battling Boston for the AL East title, and with the Red Sox beating Toronto 3-0, Tampa Bay's lead was cut to 1 1/2 games.

Maddon and several players said there were no after-effects from Saturday night's party - which started in a champagne- and beer-soaked clubhouse - but Sonnanstine (13-8) said it had to have some bearing.

"It drains your energy going through the all the emotional celebrations," he said. "A little bit. But we knew we had a game today."

The Rays were playing a desperate team fighting to stay in playoff contention, and they were doing so with shortstop Jason Bartlett, second baseman Akinori Iwamura and catcher Dioner Navarro out of the lineup and first baseman Carlos Pena serving only as the DH.

The one regular infielder who did occupy his spot, third baseman Evan Longoria, made two throwing errors - although the second one to first baseman Dan Johnson was the kind of throw in the dirt that Pena often saves.

Longoria blamed only himself.

"Dan and I talked," he said. "He apologized, but I told him it was my fault. If I don't get the throw over there, I don't expect him to catch it."

Longoria's first errant throw - he charged a two-out, slow roller from Adam Everett, bare-handed it and fired wide - allowed Justin Morneau to score. Mike Redmond also was coming around to score when Rocco Baldelli's throw from right field sailed long, so the Twins got two runs out of the play.

One batter later, Tampa Catholic High grad Denard Span singled to score Everett and it was 4-1.

The Twins had scored a run earlier in the inning after Willy Aybar, playing second base, made an error in judgment on a grounder from Morneau.

Aybar made a great play to his left to field the ball, but instead of going for a probable out at first, he tried to get lead runner Joe Mauer at second and both runners wound up safe.

Mike Redmond singled two batters later to score Mauer.

Longoria noted that if he had made a clean throw on Everett's grounder, the Rays probably would have got out of the inning at 1-1. They had scored in the third on a sacrifice fly by Pena after fill-in catcher Michel Hernandez opened the frame with a single.

"I just kind of pulled it wide," Longoria said. "Without any backup down that right-field line, it's going to roll around for a while. That play didn't look very good, and then Rocco threw it over my head. So it was kind of like a circus out there for a second."

It was a tough break for Sonnanstine, who has come up short six times in trying for a club record-tying 14th win. Having allowed only two earned runs over his past three starts, he certainly has pitched well enough to have that win.

The Rays were quick to credit Twins lefty Francisco Liriano (6-3), who held them to five hits over seven innings.

"He did what he gets paid to do: throw his electric stuff at you and get you to swing at some stuff you don't want to swing at," said Fernando Perez, who got the start in left field.

Perez said the game was the kind the Rays typically put behind them quickly.

"We threw the ball around a little bit, which is not characteristic of us," he said. "But you know, it might be good for us that we got beat today and didn't play very well, because if we had to learn that lesson, we might as well learn it now before a big eight-game road trip."

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994 or afabrizio@tampatrib.com.

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