Baseball Guru
04-04-2002, 05:14 AM
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer
April 3, 2002, 10:53 PM EST
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Randy Winn snapped an 0-for-10 streak with an RBI single in the 12th inning that gave the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.
The Devil Rays, who lost a AL-high 100 games last season, are off to the first 2-0 start in the team's five-year history. They are two games over .500 for the first time since May 21, 1999.
Winn's game-winning hit off Jeff Farnsworth drove in Brent Abernathy from second base. Abernathy led off the bottom of the 12th with his third hit, then moved to second on Chris Gomez's sacrifice bunt.
Jesus Colome pitched two innings for the Devil Rays to get the win.
The Devil Rays, who overcame a late-inning deficit to beat the Tigers 9-5 on Tuesday night, rallied in the eighth to send the game into extra innings.
Toby Hall's fourth single off Steve Sparks drove in Steve Cox from second base, wiping out the 1-0 lead the Tigers took on Robert Fick's sixth-inning homer.
Fick, who has a sore left hamstring, went 3-for-4 before being removed for a pinch runner after he doubled in the eighth. He finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle against Devil Rays starter Paul Wilson.
Sparks, who escaped a jam in the seventh when he struck out Gomez and Jason Tyner with the bases loaded, allowed one run on eight hits in 7 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Wilson was just as impressive for Tampa Bay, scattering nine hits over eight innings to keep the Devil Rays in the game. He struck out five and his only walk was an intentional pass in the eighth.
The right-hander allowed six runners to reach base in the first five innings, but the Tigers didn't come close to scoring until Fick homered with two outs in the sixth.
The Devil Rays turned double plays in the first, fourth and fifth innings. Wilson got Damion Easley to ground to second, stranding two runners in the fourth.
Tampa Bay had even less success early against Sparks, who entered the game with an 0-2 career record and 10.26 ERA in six games against the Devil Rays.
Hall had the only two hits off the Sparks through four innings. Brent Abernathy singled and stole second in the fifth, but was stranded when Gomez flied to center and Tyner grounded to short.
Gomez and Tyner failed to deliver again in the seventh after the Devil Rays loaded the bases on Hall's bunt single and hits by Ben Grieve and Abernathy.
Notes:@ The crowd was announced as 15,186, down from the opening night attendance of 38,142 ... The Devil Rays' pitching staff has gone 154 games without a complete game, the longest streak in major league history. ... A throwing error charged to Tigers RHP Jeff Weaver in third inning of Tuesday night's game was changed to an error on first baseman Dmitri Young, who allowed the throw to get by him. A run scored on the play.
AP Sports Writer
April 3, 2002, 10:53 PM EST
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Randy Winn snapped an 0-for-10 streak with an RBI single in the 12th inning that gave the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.
The Devil Rays, who lost a AL-high 100 games last season, are off to the first 2-0 start in the team's five-year history. They are two games over .500 for the first time since May 21, 1999.
Winn's game-winning hit off Jeff Farnsworth drove in Brent Abernathy from second base. Abernathy led off the bottom of the 12th with his third hit, then moved to second on Chris Gomez's sacrifice bunt.
Jesus Colome pitched two innings for the Devil Rays to get the win.
The Devil Rays, who overcame a late-inning deficit to beat the Tigers 9-5 on Tuesday night, rallied in the eighth to send the game into extra innings.
Toby Hall's fourth single off Steve Sparks drove in Steve Cox from second base, wiping out the 1-0 lead the Tigers took on Robert Fick's sixth-inning homer.
Fick, who has a sore left hamstring, went 3-for-4 before being removed for a pinch runner after he doubled in the eighth. He finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle against Devil Rays starter Paul Wilson.
Sparks, who escaped a jam in the seventh when he struck out Gomez and Jason Tyner with the bases loaded, allowed one run on eight hits in 7 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Wilson was just as impressive for Tampa Bay, scattering nine hits over eight innings to keep the Devil Rays in the game. He struck out five and his only walk was an intentional pass in the eighth.
The right-hander allowed six runners to reach base in the first five innings, but the Tigers didn't come close to scoring until Fick homered with two outs in the sixth.
The Devil Rays turned double plays in the first, fourth and fifth innings. Wilson got Damion Easley to ground to second, stranding two runners in the fourth.
Tampa Bay had even less success early against Sparks, who entered the game with an 0-2 career record and 10.26 ERA in six games against the Devil Rays.
Hall had the only two hits off the Sparks through four innings. Brent Abernathy singled and stole second in the fifth, but was stranded when Gomez flied to center and Tyner grounded to short.
Gomez and Tyner failed to deliver again in the seventh after the Devil Rays loaded the bases on Hall's bunt single and hits by Ben Grieve and Abernathy.
Notes:@ The crowd was announced as 15,186, down from the opening night attendance of 38,142 ... The Devil Rays' pitching staff has gone 154 games without a complete game, the longest streak in major league history. ... A throwing error charged to Tigers RHP Jeff Weaver in third inning of Tuesday night's game was changed to an error on first baseman Dmitri Young, who allowed the throw to get by him. A run scored on the play.