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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays claim they don't
care what Cory Lidle thinks about them.
|  | | Tampa Bay's Tanyon Sturtze gave up just six hits in seven innings, and survived his five walks. |
Still, they responded to their former teammate's criticism by
waking from their season-long slumber for a convincing victory.
Greg Vaughn hit a three-run homer, and Tanyon Sturtze allowed
six hits over seven innings as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the
Oakland Athletics 5-1 Tuesday night.
Mike DiFelice had three hits and Randy Winn had a run-scoring double as
Tampa Bay, which has the majors' worst record at 15-36, opened a
nine-game road trip with just its fourth victory in 14 games.
The Devil Rays admit they weren't impressed by recent comments
from Lidle, the A's starter Tuesday who was traded from Tampa
Bay to Oakland in the offseason. Lidle criticized Tampa Bay's
entire organization, from general manager Chuck LaMar to pitching
coach Bill Fischer to the Devil Rays' veterans.
"I don't worry about Cory Lidle," said Vaughn, assumed to be
one of the main Tampa Bay players Lidle called "veteran guys who
aren't really leaders."
"He's not a factor in my life. I couldn't care less what Cory
Lidle has to say. These clubhouses are only about 50 feet apart. If
he has something to say to me, I figure he can knock on the door."
In the fifth inning, Vaughn popped Lidle's hanging curveball
into the Coliseum's short left-field corner for his 13th homer.
That was all the offense needed by Sturtze (2-4), who was rocked
for 14 runs and 16 hits in his last two starts.
Sturtze mostly shut down the A's lineup while pitching out of
trouble in the fifth and seventh innings. Starting pitching has
been troublesome for Tampa Bay, which has the majors' second-worst
team ERA, but Sturtze kept Oakland in check despite walking five
batters, including three in a row in the fifth to force in a run.
"I don't care what Cory Lidle says," Sturtze said. "The only
person that took it personally was Fischer. Fischer really cared
what Cory said. I don't think Cory was thinking when he made those
comments. He hurt someone's feelings pretty bad. All Fischer was
trying to do was teach him."
Sturtze struck out four while matching his longest start of the
season. Travis Phelps, the Devil Rays' 89th choice in the 1996 draft,
pitched the final two innings for Tampa Bay for the first save of
his professional career.
"(Sturtze) was throwing the ball well at the end, and Phelps
gave us what we needed from him," Tampa Bay manager Hal McRae
said. "(Phelps) is a battler, and we need more of those types of
players."
Ramon Hernandez had three hits for Oakland, which lost its third
in a row and had its six-game home winning streak snapped. The A's,
who briefly got above .500 during a road trip last week, swept the
Yankees and the White Sox at the Coliseum on May 15-20.
Lidle allowed five hits in six innings, remaining winless as
Oakland's fifth starter.
He claimed his comments were "taken a little bit out of
context. I have nothing against the players."
Lidle retired the first nine hitters, but he found trouble in
the fourth when Winn singled and advanced on a groundout. Oakland
intentionally walked Fred McGriff to face Vaughn, which McRae said
provided more motivation for Vaughn than anything Lidle could have
said.
"I lost McGriff, and then I went downhill from there," Lidle
said. "I stuck with my game plan. The hitters are just too good to
let me down all year."
Vaughn, who went 2-for-16 in Tampa Bay's just-completed series
against Anaheim, got his 28th career homer against the A's -- more
than he has against any other opponent.
Tampa Bay got another run in the fifth when Miguel Tejada
couldn't hang on to Damian Rolls' pop fly to shallow left, allowing
DiFelice to score from third.
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RECAPS
Cleveland 6
Detroit 4
Toronto 4
Chi. White Sox 0
Texas 8
Kansas City 2
Minnesota 6
Anaheim 5
Tampa Bay 5
Oakland 1
Seattle 3
Baltimore 2
Chicago Cubs 10
Cincinnati 5
Florida 5
Pittsburgh 0
Philadelphia 7
NY Mets 3
Atlanta 7
Montreal 4
Milwaukee 7
St. Louis 0
San Diego 5
Houston 4
Colorado 7
Los Angeles 2
Arizona 1
San Francisco 0
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