You can make a baseball dip, curve or slow down, but Rays pitchers know the one true thing about pitching: The fastball is king.
The Rays and Indians swapped right-handed relievers on Thursday, with Tampa Bay acquiring John Meloan and Cleveland getting Winston Abreu.
Whoever plays right field on Friday -- Gabe Gross or Gabe Kapler -- Rays manager Joe Maddon is pleasantly surprised with his all-Gabe right-field platoon.
Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero shut out one of the league's most potent offenses as the Rays lost to the Jays, 5-0, on Wednesday at Rogers Centre.
B.J. Upton underwent offseason surgery and got off to a cold start. But he never gave up, and Joe Maddon thinks Upton's improved play comes alongside growing maturity.
James Shields has gone 6-5 this season with five no-decisions, three of which his team has lost. But in his last outing, he recorded his 10th quality start in 16 games this season, and feels it's only a matter of time before those starts turn into wins.
The Rays tagged Blue Jays right-hander Scott Richmond for three solo home runs, and right-hander Matt Garza was able to hold onto an early lead, sending Tampa Bay to a 4-1 win over Toronto on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.
Rays manager Joe Maddon plans to take it easy on Evan Longoria's sore left hamstring until he's one hundred percent healthy. That was the reasoning behind Maddon's decision to hold Longoria out of the lineup on Tuesday.
Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Jason Bartlett and Carlos Pena all remain in contention at their respective positions to earn starting spots on the American League All-Star squad, which will be managed by Rays manager Joe Maddon.
Matt Garza's 3-2 record against the Blue Jays last season does not reflect how thoroughly the right-hander dominated Toronto's offense. In five starts against the Jays in 2008, Garza posted a sparkling 0.47 ERA.
With a pair of home runs and a dominating performance by right-hander Jeff Niemann, the Rays cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday at Rogers Centre.
For Joe Maddon, one of the keys to the Rays' success at the plate this year has been their ability to come up with hits with two strikes against them.
The Tampa Bay Rays "All-Star Among Us" is Tommy Timberlake of Tampa, Fla., who was chosen by fans across the nation for engaging young people around the world in initiatives ranging from increasing access to education to fighting poverty.
Jeff Niemann may be pining for some semblance of routine. Since June 10, Niemann has had irregular breaks between starts and will pitch on six-days' rest on Monday.
Joe Maddon remains steadfast in his preference for keeping his bullpen-by-committee, though J.P. Howell appears to be filling the role of closer.
In a matchup of young, hard-throwing left-handers, David Price outdueled Andrew Miller as the Rays beat the Marlins, 5-2, to sweep the three-game series at Tropicana Field.
Still a month before the Trade Deadline, the Rays may feel like they've made two acquisitions already. The return of starter Scott Kazmir earned the most notoriety.
Sunday morning the Rays hosted Kenny Diekroeger, their second-round pick from the recently-completed First-Year Player Draft.
Major League Baseball told an umpiring crew Friday that it mistakenly went to a video review Thursday on a ball hit by Tampa Bay's Pat Burrell that bounced into the stands at Tropicana Field.
Left-hander David Price gets the nod Sunday against the Marlins as the Rays wrap up Interleague Play for the 2009 season.
Willy Aybar's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth led the Rays to a 3-2 walk-off win over the Marlins on Saturday night with a crowd of 35,790 watching.
Tampa Bay suddenly found itself with an abundance of arms in the starting rotation, with Scott Kazmir activated off the disabled list and ready to take the ball on Saturday.
The Rays sent right-handed pitcher Andy Sonnanstine down to Triple-A Durham on Friday night to make room on the roster for Scott Kazmir, who was activated off the 15-day disabled list.
B.J. Upton hit a three-run double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Rays past the Marlins, 7-3, at Tropicana Field on Friday night.
MLB
Jeff Niemann
MLB
Matt Garza
MLB
Jeff Niemann
MLB
James Shields
MLB
Jeff Niemann
MLB
Jeff Niemann
MLB
B.J. Upton
MLB
B.J. Upton
MLB
Gabe Gross
MLB
Carl Crawford
Please register.
To track players you must be logged in first. Sign up right above this notification box, then add as many players as you wish or even import your roster. :)
TBA Team Page
TBA Depth Chart
TBA Differential
iPhone Application