TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Davis Shines In Rays' 5-1 Loss To Yankees

The Associated Press

Reggie Jackson, left, visits with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during the Yankees' spring training baseball game Thursday against the Rays.

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2009

TAMPA - The Yankees trotted out some of their luminaries before their Grapefruit League home opener Thursday against the Rays, and they added some prestige to the game.

The Rays trotted out minor league pitcher Calvin Medlock in the seventh inning, and that didn't go so well.

Medlock surrendered a towering three-run homer to Shelley Duncan, and the real home team – the one that plays its regular season games across the bay in St. Petersburg -- fell to 0-2 in spring training with a 5-1 loss.

Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry and Goose Gossage were among the former Yankees greats introduced before the game and The Boss, George Steinbrenner, was in the owner's box. The lineups on the field weren't quite as star-studded.

Designated hitter Jorge Posada hit a solo shot off Chad Orvella in the third and doubled in a run off Winston Abreu in the fifth. The Rays managed their lone run in the seventh, when Jon Weber singled off the glove of shortstop Eduardo Nunez to score Elliott Johnson.

Rays manager Joe Maddon started righthander Wade Davis of Lake Wales and he impressed, retiring the six batters he faced, including strikeouts of Yankees guns Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.

"When I saw him last year, he didn't look nearly as aggressive as he was today," Maddon said. "The first part of this camp is to look at people like that in game opportunities, and they need to take advantage of their opportunities, and Wade did today."

Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey also was impressed and declared Davis, who came on late last year at Triple-A Durham, and pronounced him a candidate for the No. 5 spot in Tampa Bay's starting rotation.

Rodriguez, embroiled in a steroids controversy, heard boos outnumber cheers by about a 2-to-1 ratio when he first came to the plate in the second inning. He went 0-for-2 and left the game after five innings.

Medlock, a non-roster invitee who made 41 appearances out of the Durham bullpen last year, surrendered three hits, including the homer, in his one inning of work.

The Rays' lineup consisted mostly of backups and players hoping to make an impression. The exceptions were left fielder Carl Crawford, who went 0-for-2, and newcomer Gabe Kapler, who debuted in center field and went 0-for-2.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT