|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Fred McGriff will wait to take his
bow. He figures he has plenty more home runs to hit.
The five-time All-Star's two-out, opposite-field homer broke an
eighth-inning tie Tuesday night and lifted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
over the Baltimore Orioles 4-3.
|
Castilla benched again
|
|
Castilla benched after failing to hit behind runner<
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tampa Bay's Vinny Castilla was
benched again Tuesday, this time after failing to hit behind
a runner in a game that was tied.
Fred McGriff's eighth-inning homer gave the Devil Rays a 4-3 win over the Orioles. But apparently it was
Castilla's inability to advance McGriff from second base with no
outs in the sixth that prompted manager Hal McRae to take the third
baseman out of the lineup.
McRae, who met with Castilla after the game, declined to say
what was discussed or why he made the move. The manager did say
that Castilla, who asked to be traded or released after former
manager Larry Rothschild benched him last month, will not be in the
lineup Wednesday.
"I don't know what to say and I don't want to lie ... I think
it's my job to get my point across and protect the player," McRae
said.
Castilla, coming off the worst season of his career, is hitting
.215 with two homers and nine RBI. He has been in and out of the
lineup since rookie Aubrey Huff was promoted from Triple-A Durham
last month.
"I'm frustrated right now. Ten years in the majors – and for
not moving a runner over ... he takes me out of the game. That's
ridiculous. I've never seen something like that," Castilla said.
"I feel like I'm under a microscope for everything I do."
– Associated Press
|
It was the 422nd homer of McGriff's career. He joined Mark
McGwire, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Eddie Murray and Reggie Jackson
as the only players to homer off 300 different pitchers when he
sent a 2-1 delivery from Jose Mercedes (0-6) over the left-field
wall.
"It's nice, especially when we haven't had too many victories
around here," said McGriff, who's hit safely in 10 of his last 11
games – batting .333 during the stretch to raise his average 35
points to .274.
"It's a milestone that when you're through playing, and you can
just watch everybody else play, then you can sit back and say to
yourself: 'Good job!' "
The loss was the sixth straight for the Orioles, while the Devil
Rays snapped a three-game skid.
Rusty Meacham (1-1) pitched one inning to get his first win
since July 18, 1996, and Esteban Yan worked the ninth for his fifth
save in five chances.
Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Greg Vaughn
singled to drive in two runs and Jose Guillen followed with a RBI
single off Mercedes, who allowed eight hits, struck out seven and
walked one in eight innings.
Mercedes' six-game losing streak is the longest of his career.
He led all AL pitchers with 11 wins after last season's All-Star
game, however he entered Tuesday night's game with the third
highest ERA (7.41) in the league behind Rick Helling and Ryan Rupe.
The stunned Orioles starter sat in the clubhouse shaking his
head in disbelief. He has lost twice to the Devil Rays and left a
third start against Tampa Bay with a lead the Baltimore bullpen
couldn't hold.
"I can't believe how stuff happens. It's unbelievable. It's
like something was made to be that way," said Mercedes, who struck
out Ben Grieve and Greg Vaughn before giving up the game-winning
homer.
"One bad inning every game. What else can I do? I keep fighting
this one big inning, and it keeps following me. It's
unbelievable."
Jay Gibbons, Brook Fordyce and Mike Bordick drove in runs to
wipe out the three-run deficit against Tanyon Sturtze, who made his
first start for Tampa Bay after appearing in 12 games as a
reliever.
While Sturtze was making his first start, six on his dozen
relief appearances came against the Orioles, who are 6-5 against
the Devil Rays compared to 7-15 against the rest of the AL.
The Devil Rays didn't waste time getting to the Orioles'
right-hander. But after loading the bases with no outs and taking a
3-0 first-inning lead on singles by Vaughn and Guillen, Tampa Bay
fizzled.
Mercedes didn't allow another runner past first base until
McGriff doubled to lead off the sixth. The right-hander retired the
next three batters to get out of the inning.
Meanwhile, Baltimore got back into the game despite only getting
five hits off Sturtze, who left after throwing 86 pitches in five
innings.
Gibbons grounded out to drive in a run in the second, Fordyce
had a RBI single in the fourth and Brady Anderson doubled before
taking third on a wild pitch and scoring to make it 3-3 when
Bordick grounded out in the fifth.
Game notes
Sturtze's start was his first since last Aug. 26, when he
also faced Baltimore ... By the end of the series, the Orioles and
Devil Rays will have played 13 times in the first 35 games ... Only
seven AL outfielders have had 20 or more assists in the past 50
years. None of them had as many at this point in the season as
Guillen, who got his major league-leading seventh on Sunday ...
Guillen was 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position before his
first-inning RBI single ... The Orioles' 20 home runs are the
fewest in the AL.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
| |
OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Baltimore Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 12
Seattle 4
Cleveland 8
Kansas City 4
Detroit 5
Texas 4
Minnesota 2
NY Yankees 0
Oakland 8
Toronto 5
Tampa Bay 4
Baltimore 3
Chi. White Sox 2
Anaheim 0
Philadelphia 3
Houston 2
Milwaukee 4
Chicago Cubs 1
St. Louis 8
Pittsburgh 2
Colorado 12
NY Mets 4
Arizona 4
Cincinnati 3
San Diego 7
Atlanta 1
Florida 7
Los Angeles 6
San Francisco 9
Montreal 1
|
