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Sonnanstine takes step back in Rays' loss

The Associated Press

Sonnanstine was pulled with none out in the third after allowing seven runs on nine hits, including a pair of home runs by Adam Jones.

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 12, 2009

Updated: 05/13/2009 12:01 am

BALTIMORE - Whatever was wrong with right-hander Andy Sonnanstine in April still isn't fixed.

After two promising starts, including a stout no-decision last week at New York, Sonnanstine (1-4) reverted to earlier form with the shortest start of his career in a 7-5 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night.

Handed a 5-1 lead after Tampa Bay pounded former Ray Mark Hendrickson for five runs in the second, Sonnanstine gave all the runs back in the bottom of the frame. He was pulled with none out in the third after allowing a double, a run-scoring single and another single.

Sonnanstine, a 13-game winner who went 4-1 against the American League East last year, was 0-3 with a 7.78 ERA before getting his first win May 1 against Boston. Tuesday, he allowed seven runs on nine hits, including a pair of home runs by Adam Jones.

"Most frustrating start I've ever had," Sonnanstine said softly. "I don't know, I felt good physically; I felt my pitches were good. It just wasn't my night."

Jones' first home run, a solo shot in the first, came on a slider down and away. The second, a three-run shot in the second, came on a fastball that Sonnanstine left up.

With the short start, Sonnanstine's ERA climbed from 5.79 to 7.27, highest on the staff.

"He had a tough night tonight; there's no question about that," manager Joe Maddon said. "But I look at health and I look at stuff, and he looked pretty normal. There's something there that we've got to fix on a more consistent basis."

Catcher Dioner Navarro also said Sonnanstine didn't look much different than he did last Wednesday against the Yankees, when he outpitched A.J. Burnett and took a four-hit shutout in the eighth inning.

The Yankees tied that game on a bases-loaded double by Mark Teixeira off J.P. Howell before the Rays came back to win.

"We were playing a pretty good team that can swing the bat," Navarro said of Sonnanstine's outing Tuesday. "He got kind of frustrated when he was making pitches and they were still being to hit the ball where nobody was.

"I guess it was one of those days where no matter what we did, everything was going to be good for them."

Neither bullpen allowed a run after Hendrickson didn't return for the third and Sonnanstine was replaced. The Rays spread the innings among Grant Balfour, Howell, Joe Nelson and Dan Wheeler, and Maddon said all will be available to pitch tonight against the Orioles.

The Rays' five-run second included a two-run double by Carl Crawford, who surpassed Aubrey Huff as Tampa Bay's all-time RBI leader with 451. Crawford set the mark on "Aubrey Huff T-Shirt Night," with fans wearing Huff's No.17 all over Oriole Park.

Crawford, who leads the majors with 22 stolen bases, went 2-for-5 to raise his average slightly to .336.

"Carl's at-bats are spectacular right now," Maddon said. "He's just doing a lot of good things baseball-wise right now."

Maddon started Ben Zobrist at second to give Akinori Iwamura extra rest in the middle of a stretch of 40 games in 41 days, and Willy Aybar was the DH in place of Pat Burrell, who had a stiff neck.

Aybar had two hits and a run, but Zobrist went 0-for-4 and had a grounder skip off his glove in the Orioles' five-run second. Cesar Izturis was credited with a single on the play.

NOTES: LHP David Price received a nondecision in Triple-A Durham's 7-6 loss to Louisville on Tuesday night. He allowed two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts, no walks and one home run allowed. … The Rays' fell to 2-4 against the Orioles, a team they took 15 of 18 from last year.

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