Dale Thayer had just completed his warm-up tosses before the seventh inning when Joe Maddon came to the mound to make a pitching change. His team had just scored four times and he wanted Grant Balfour to take the ball for the bottom half. ...more

July 25, 2009

Frank Permuy joked Friday night that if you stay in coaching long enough, you're bound to reach some milestones. Fortunately for Gaither's longtime baseball coach, he didn't have to wait long with his latest milestone within reach. ...more

March 28, 2009

Andy Pettitte felt so good in his first spring training start that the New York Yankees let him pitch longer than his scheduled one-inning stint. ...more

March 9, 2009

Chien-Ming Wang passed another test, and it had nothing to do with his pitching arm. ...more

March 7, 2009

PHILADELPHIA The Rays' mission tonight boils down to one simple objective: Get home. And get there with something to do besides pack their bags and disperse for the winter. ...more

October 27, 2008

The Rays' mission tonight boils down to one simple objective: Get home. And get there with something to do besides pack their bags and disperse for the winter. ...more

October 27, 2008

Star Of The Game: Ryan Howard And to think there was a concern about Ryan Howard's lack of power in the postseason. Not any longer. Not after Sunday night's Game 4. Howard had two home runs - and five RBIs - for the Phillies in a 10-2 victory against the Rays at Citizens Bank Park. Rays manager Joe Maddon has been employing the shift against the left-handed batting Howard. In turn, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been imploring Howard to go the other way. So it was heartening to see Howard's three-run homer - into the left-field bleachers - in the fourth inning. Howard, who led the National League with 48 homers, also went deep in Saturday night's Game 4. ...more

October 27, 2008

Joey Johnston looks at how, and why, the Phillies managed a 5-4victory over the Rays to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. ...more

October 26, 2008

The Rays will experience another first in a season of them tonight at Tropicana Field, and it could go either way. ...more

October 19, 2008

When the Rays need a starter to go deep into a game protecting a one- or two-run lead, they probably would prefer to have James Shields on the mound. ...more

October 15, 2008