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Lethargy does in Rays as they fall to the Rangers

The Associated Press

Kazmir walked one and struck out six in five innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 4, 2009

Updated: 07/04/2009 12:30 am

ARLINGTON, Texas - Maybe it was the day off with nothing much to do that preceded Friday's game, or maybe it was the suffocating game-time temperature that checked in right at 100 degrees.

Whatever the case, the Rays just didn't seem themselves as they opened a series against the surprising second-place Rangers with a quiet 3-1 setback.

Aside from not being able to generate much of anything at the plate in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks around, the Rays were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field, making key errors in the fourth and fifth innings that led directly to Texas runs and looking generally lethargic most of the night as they reached the 81-game midway point in their season.

"We did not have a good game tonight," said Manager Joe Maddon. "We made mistakes tonight and we could not come up with a clutch hit."

Unearned runs stemming from those errors proved to be the margin in Scott Kazmir's first career loss to his home-state team, though he chose to fault the hanging slider he threw to Hank Blalock in the fourth that ended up as a two-run homer.

"You don't throw that pitch to Blalock," Kazmir said. "Anything that's hanging, anything up – that's where he likes it, that's where he wants it."

The left-hander had a fairly lengthy closed-door chat with Maddon following the game, but Maddon said Kazmir was "good" mentally and physically and Kazmir seemed pleased with his outing, aside from that one to Blalock he would have preferred to have back.

All in all, Kazmir didn't pitch poorly Friday night, walking one and striking out six as he threw 99 pitches in five innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list. Ultimately, the errors hurt him the most.

The first miscue directly preceded Blalock's 402-foot homer to right, as Andruw Jones led off the inning with a grounder to short. Jason Bartlett came up with it fine, but his throw to first tailed away from Carlos Peña and up the line, allowing Jones to move to second.

A wild throw also led to the other unearned run on Kazmir's watch, and it was Bartlett's middle-infield partner Ben Zobrist on the hook this time. After Elvis Andrus led off the fifth with a single, Ian Kinsler grounded a potential double-play ball to Bartlett, but Ben Zobrist air-mailed the relay into the Rangers' dugout. That put Kinsler on second, and he scored easily on Marlon Byrd's two-out double.

As difficult a time as the Rays had in the field, their offense also left plenty to be desired for the second consecutive game. Rookie starter Tommy Hunter, who turned 23 Friday, held the Rays to a season-low-tying three hits. Two of them came in the fifth, when Pat Burrell led things off with a single and B.J. Upton eventually drove him home with one.

Once Kazmir departed, the Rays' bullpen – particularly Grant Balfour – did its job in keeping the team within striking distance. But that solid all-around pitching was about the only positive the Rays could pull from this one.

"[Kazmir] just had a bad fate tonight," Maddon said. "We just didn't play our best game."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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