Results tagged ‘ Evan Longoria ’
Rays Walk Off With Style!
Shields shuts out, Evan walks off, Rays win.
James Shields was tired of hearing about his rough start against the Red Sox, and decided to
give people something else to talk about. Shields threw 92 pitches of 1 hit ball to notch his second complete game shut out of the season, as the Rays beat the Angels 2-0. Shields struck out 8 as a loaded Angels offense fell silent, save for Brandon Wood’s third inning single. Angels starter John Garland pitched well, going 8 innings giving up no runs on just 4 Rays’ hits. Justin Speier took over in the ninth giving up a lead off single to BJ Upton and then a walk off HR to rookie Evan Longoria.
The Daily Turn:
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Shields moves to 4-2 on the season and pitched his second shut out of the season, both against solid clubs. The Angels have a line up stacked with veteran hitters and to allow just one hit is amazing. Tomorrow Scott Kazmir will try to follow suit against unbeaten Joe Saunders(6-0).
Shields wasn’t the only one sparkling in the field, as the game boasted some fine defensive work by the Rays. BJ Upton had a nice diving catch and an inning later Carl Crawford had an amazing catch, completely laying out in the left center field gap. Evan Longoria showed his leather making some good stabs at the hot corner as well.
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Yesterday the Rays beat the Jays in extras after a blown save by Troy Percival. What gave me
the most pleasure in watching that game was watching Shawn Camp crumble on the mound for the Jays. Any Rays fan will tell you, after watching Camp ruin games for us the past two seasons, it was nice to see him actually help the Rays win for a change.
Quote of the Day:
“I’m looking at the roster and I’m like, where can I get in?”
-Cliff Floyd on his possible return to the team this Sunday, to a team who is already playing pretty good ball.
Back from Baltimore
Catching the Rays and Orioles game at Camden Yards was great. I finally got to see Matt Garza pitch a solid game, and despite the rain it was a great afternoon. Some of the highlights, besides the win were seeing Jonny Gomes hit a monster HR to left field and Eric Kinske tossing me a ball. I did ask Evan Longoria for an autograph before the game, and he
said “no, the game was about to start”, and proceeded to stand around in front of me doing nothing for 7 minutes. That aggravated me, as he is way to young to start that attitude. But on the flip side I can understand it, he is at “work”, and I am constantly denying people things that I know I can provide for no good reason. In any case, it was a great game to watch. I couldn’t watch any of the Rays-Red Sox games since I was in a hotel all weekend, but it appears that I didn’t miss too much as the Rays got swept out of town. I am stoked that Sonnanstine was kept int he rotation, that gave me some hope that the brass is ready to win now. I am looking forward to a better series north of the border in Toronto…although the Jays have been hard to beat as of late, getting some great starting pitching. Let’s go Rays.
Ray’s take #2 from Jay’s
Ray’s bounce back for win.
Anytime you get down 3-0 to Jay’s ace Roy Halladay things look bleak. Anyone will tell you it’s not easy to score against him, let alone post 4 runs in one inning…but don’t tell the Ray’s that. That was the case tonight in Orlando in the 2nd game of the three game series, as the Ray’s found themselves down 3-0 in the 6th inning. Halladay looked sharp through 5, but had trouble with the pesky Ray’s in the 6th giving up 4 runs including an Evan Longoria tying single and an Erik Hinske go ahead single. Jason Hammel looked decent, only making two mistakes, both to Matt Stairs who hit 2 HR’s. The Ray’s once again strung together some base hits to score when it mattered most against one of the best pitchers in the league. Crawford led off the 8th with a triple and scored on BJ Upton’s sac fly to center making it 5-3, and that’s how it ended, Troy Percival closing it out for his 3rd save of the season. The Ray’s are now 5-0 in Orlando at the Disney Complex…and 5-0 at home in outdoor stadiums…hmmm…if only we had an outdoor stadium in St. Pete…..
The Daily Turn:
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Evan Longoria’s game tying single in the 6th was impressive. Halladay had been pitching him
hard inside all night, and the young star made the adjustment when it mattered the most taking an inside fastball the other way for a base hit. Longoria was also impressive with the glove, making two tough plays look routine at third base. Although only having just over one week of major league experience, Longoria has handled himself well and is looking like a potential all-star third baseman.
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Carl Crawford went 2-4 with a triple and an RBI single, the triple being his 75th of his career. He also has a 10 game hitting streak going, and is .333 with 8 RBI’s during that stretch. The Ray’s designated Dan Johnson for assignment to make room for newly acquired Gabe Gross. Johnson suited for the Ray’s last night but did not get into a game.
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Troy Percival came on for the second game in a row and although effective, his fastball had less pop than the night before. Troy appeared to use his head more than his arm as he retired the Jay’s 1-2-3 in the 9th inning on Wednesday, relying on his curve and change to keep hitters off balance. It will be interesting to see if he is available should the Ray’s need him in tomorrow night’s game, and, if so, how his arm holds up.
Quote of the Day:
“Obviously, it’s a little bit of an awkward situation.”
- Ray’s executive VP Andrew Friedman on the acquiring, signing ans releasing of Dan Johnson…all in the matter of 72 hours.
RAYS GET CRUSHED
White Sox 9, Rays 2
The Rays were crushed by the ChiSox 9-2 Friday night. Rookie Jeff Niemann was lit up, making his second Major League appearance. The game got out of hand quickly and the White Sox never looked back. Jim Thome and Paul Konerko went deep off Niemman, back to back in the 3rd. Javier Vazquez looked sharp and picked up his third straight win.
The Daily Turn:
6 Evan Longoria doubled and walked on the night of his big contract announcement. In watching this kid play it’s obvious that he is going to be a contributor right off the bat. His hands are quick at the plate and soft in the field. Sorry, Willy Aybar. I think your stint in Tampa is over.
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As in possible DH’s the Rays now have after picking up Dan Johnson off waivers from Oakland. Johnson, who has decent pop with the bat, is a first baseman who will back up Pena and occasionally DH. The Rays also have Jonny Gomes, Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd(on DL). Seems that things are getting a little crowded here and someone will most likely be sent down or sent packing. Hinske has been hitting well, Cliff Floyd is a solid veteran presence, and Gomes is a fan favorite. What to do, what to do.
3 As in the number of extra starting pitchers the Rays will have once Kazmir and Garza return, both at the end of the month. Shields is a lock and both Hammel and Jackson have started strong meaning Sonnanstine and Neiemann may find themselves back in Triple A.
Quote of the Day:
“We believe in Evan as a person and as a player or we wouldn’t do this.”
-Rays VP Andrew Freidman when asked why the Rays signed a guy wuth 7 days of MLB service to such a lucrative deal.
RAYS SIGN LONGORIA TO 9 YEAR EXTENSION
****BREAKING NEWS****
The Tampa Bay Rays made a huge statement about the future of their franchise this afternoon announcing that 2006 first round pick Evan Longoria has agreed to a 9 year contract extension. The deal, the longest in team history, keeps Evan locked up through the 2013 season with options for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The deal is said to be guaranteed at $17.5 million, but if all options are picked up it could be worth $44 million.
The Rays expect big things from Longoria, who was just re-called from Triple A-Durham on April 12th and is showing a good plate presence and a slick glove at third base. During spring training Evan batted .262 (11-for-42) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, a .407 on-base pct. and a .595 slugging mark. This is a move the organization and fans can be excited about as this future all-star is here to stay! The Rays have yet again reinforced the fact that they are committed to the team’s long term success.
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