Another Sweep in St. Pete!

Rays sweep Angels for 9^th straight win at home!

  There is something special going on in St. Petersburg, Florida, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. The starting pitching has been strong, making up for a slumping offense, and today, the pitching was sub par, and the offense stepped up to secure the victory. The Rays beat the Angles 8-5 to complete a three game sweep, their 3^rd sweep of the season, and extend their home win streak to 9 games. Andy Sonnanstine was not great, but pitched well enough to keep his team in the game, going 5 innings and giving up 5 runs. J.P. Howell came on in relief and gave up nothing in three innings before handing the ball of to Troy Percival who notched his 9^th ninth save of the season. The offense struck early and then tacked on late, doing what they needed to do to win the ball game. No one in the baseball world is ready to give the Rays their due just yet, but you can only say "it's early" for so long. In April everyone said "it's early", don't get too excited. Now it's May, and the Rays have improved. But I know, it's early, right?

The Daily Turn: 

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The Rays lineup came through today with everyone getting a hit except rookie Evan Longoria, who had a sac fly in the first inning. The top three in the order went 9-15 including a three run home run by Crawford to put the Rays on top for good. Crawford also stole two bases. Aki Iwamura had another big day going 3-5 and boosting his on base percentage to .317.

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Cliff Floyd made his debut today since returning from a scoped knee. Floyd contributed immediately lacing two hard hit RBI singles in his first two at bats. He was 2-4 with 2 RBI's. His presence in the line up is a welcomed addition, as is his presence in the club house as a veteran leader. He helps the team in both areas and will proivde the Rays offense with some pop. A side note, Carlos Pena received his Silver Slugger Award before the game.

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The Rays open a four game series with the Yankees on Monday, and they have all the momentum in their favor right now. The Yankees were rained out in Detroit today and did not play. The pitching match ups for the big up coming series are:

Petitte vs Garza

Wang vs Jackson

Mussina vs Shields

Rasner vs Kazmir

The Rays pitchers will need to be focused and ready to face a loaded Yankees lineup. The good news is that A-rod and Posada will be out for the series.

 Quote of the Day:

"I believe that we're capable of playing this kind of baseball consistently, I really do."   

-Joe Maddon on the play of the Rays