Tampa Bay Rays

Eric Hinske drove in two runs and finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle Tuesday night, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 at Disney World. Hinske doubled in the second inning and added a RBI triple off Jesse Litsch (2-1) in the fourth before leading off the sixth with a solo homer. More »

Jim Thome hit career homer No. 512 and drove in three runs, John Danks struck out eight in seven innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 on Sunday. Thome also tied a career high with four hits. His second homer in the last three games tied him with Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 19th place on the all-time list. More »

Andy Sonnanstine threw a three-hitter for his first career complete game and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0 last night. The White Sox had just three singles, including a bunt hit, and didn't get a runner past second base. After two of the hits, Sonnanstine later got inning-ending double play grounders. Sonnanstine (2-1) struck out four and walked one. More »

Jim Thome hit his 511th career home run and Javier Vazquez won his third consecutive start to lead the Chicago White Sox past the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-2 on Friday. Thome connected in the third inning for a three-run shot off rookie Jeff Niemann, who was making his second career start. The next batter, Paul Konerko, homered to make it 4-0. More »

Jason Hammel had his second straight strong outing as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 Thursday night to split the two-game series. In six innings, Hammel (1-1) allowed six hits and three runs while striking out five to help the Rays end a three-game losing streak. He allowed two earned runs in a career-best seven innings Saturday against Baltimore. More »

Mike Lamb hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that Carl Crawford caught in foul territory and the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 on Wednesday night. Delmon Young, a former Rays standout who came to the Twins in an offseason trade, led off the eighth with a single and reached third on Brendan Harris' one-out bloop single. More »

Andy Pettitte allowed three runs over seven innings and Hideki Matsui homered to lead the New York Yankees past the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3, Tuesday night for a two-game sweep. Pettitte (2-1) gave up nine hits—seven in the first three innings—struck out five and walked three. The left-hander is 14-2 against Tampa Bay. More »

Robinson Cano's pinch-hit homer snapped an eighth-inning tie, and Alex Rodriguez hit No. 521 to match Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Willie McCovey on the career list during the New York Yankees' 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Johnny Damon and Morgan Ensberg also homered for the Yankees, who broke six runs for the first time this season. More »

Jeff Niemann allowed just one run over six innings in his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays today.  Niemann was recalled from Triple-A Durham to replace the injured Matt Garza in the rotation. The 6-foot-9 right-hander gave up six hits, one walk and had five strikeouts to record his first big-league win over the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2. More »

Ramon Hernandez hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the ninth inning to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 last night. Hernandez, who also had a run-scoring triple, gave Baltimore a 3-2 lead on his two-out homer off Dan Wheeler (0-1). The Orioles stopped a three-game losing streak. Chad Bradford (1-1) worked a scoreless inning for the victory. More »

Carlos Pena homered twice and drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning to finish with six RBIs, helping the Tampa Bay Rays rally Friday night for a 10-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Al Reyes (1-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning to get the win after being arrested early Friday at a Tampa bar and charged with disturbing the peace. More »

Police Tased Rays pitcher Al Reyes twice today in a Tampa, Fla. bar before arresting him for unlawful violence, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Cops say Reyes was celebrating his birthday when he picked a fight, took a punch, and "began to spit blood on the people in the area." Reyes expressed regret before tonight's game, saying, “I tried to have a good time on my birthday." More »

Edwin Jackson allowed two hits in eight innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 7-0 Thursday to stop a four-game losing streak. A 15-game loser in 2007, Jackson combined on a three-hitter and improved to 2-0. He didn't get his first victory until June 24 last season and had nine losses before getting his second win nearly a month later. More »

Jarrod Washburn turned his simple game plan into another strong outing against the Tampa Bay Rays. Washburn allowed one run in seven innings, and Jamie Burke hit a three-run homer to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Rays 7-1 on Wednesday night. "I have to be able to establish that right half of the plate to be successful," Washburn said. More »

Moving from Baltimore to Seattle hasn't changed Erik Bedard's mastery of Tampa Bay. The left-hander, acquired in an offseason trade, struggled through six innings but got enough support from the Mariners' sputtering offense to ruin the Rays' home opener with a 6-5 win. Bedard (1-0) allowed five runs and five hits while improving to 11-3 in 19 career starts against Tampa Bay. More »

Mike Mussina tied Bob Gibson on the career wins list by pitching six sharp innings, Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 Monday night. Abreu went 3-for-3 with a walk and Hideki Matsui drove in two runs for the Yankees, who salvaged a split of the four-game series. More »

Chien-Ming Wang pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer, leading the New York Yankees past the pesky Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 Sunday. With manager Joe Girardi back on the bench following an illness, Joba Chamberlain and second baseman Robinson Cano got the Yankees out of a dicey jam in the seventh, reports AP. More »

Andy Pettitte got the warm reception he was hoping for when he made his first start after a rocky offseason. The rest of the day didn't go as planned. Jonny Gomes homered and drove in four runs against Pettitte to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 6-3 today. New York was without manager Joe Girardi, who missed his second straight game with the flu. More »

Pinch-hitter Shawn Riggans hit a three-run double, Carlos Pena a three-run homer in a seven-run eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays roughed up Yankees youngster Ian Kennedy for six runs in a 13-4 win over New York. Yankees manager Joe Girardi missed his first game as New York's manager because of an upper respiratory infection, writes AP. More »

New Twins centerfielder Carlos Gomez proved up to the challenge of replacing Torii Hunter on this day, getting two hits, stealing two bases, and scoring twice to spark Minnesota to a 3-2 win over Los Angeles. Livan Hernandez mixed his pitches well, scattering seven hits and two runs over seven innings for the win, writes the Los Angeles Times . Elsewhere on Opening Day: More »