Harper reaches goal in second spot start

BALTIMORE -- Travis Harper's goal Sunday was simple.

"I wanted to get us to the middle part of the game," he said, "and give us a chance to win."

Harper did that against the Orioles and more.

Making his second spot start of the season, the right-hander pitched five scoreless innings to rebound from a shaky outing five nights earlier against the Yankees when he allowed three homers in 32/3 innings.

"Today was just a well-pitched game," manager Hal McRae said.

Harper allowed two singles to start the game, but settled down and retired the next 11 batters. He allowed four hits and struck out four in his first major-league win since pitching a complete game against the Blue Jays on Sept. 24, 2000.

"The whole game plan is to keep the ball down and change speeds," Harper said. "That's what I was trying to do."

Though he could make another spot start later this season, Harper is not expected to start against Oakland on Saturday. Though no official decision has been made, either Wilson Alvarez or Delvin James most likely will make the start.

Both are on the disabled list -- Alvarez with a strained muscle in his rib cage and James with stiffness in his shoulder -- and will be eligible to be activated this week.

Alvarez made his second rehab start Sunday. He pitched three innings for Double-A Orlando and allowed two hits and struck out six.

THE FIRST ONE: He started getting a "funny feeling" after striking out the first two Orioles he faced in the ninth inning.

"I felt it in my legs," rookie Steve Kent said. "I wanted to finish the game really bad."

After allowing a single and hitting Brook Fordyce, the rookie left-hander struck out Jerry Hairston for his first big-league save. Kent allowed one infield hit in four innings of relief and has 71/3 scoreless innings in his past two outings.

"Hands down," said Kent, who struck out four and walked two, "it's probably the best moment so far."

A DAY TO HEAL: McRae hoped an already scheduled day off would help Ben Grieve's aching thumb.

The rightfielder missed three games (May 5-7) because of a left thumb bruise and a minor infection caused when a callous broke open. It's still tender.

"We decided to give him a couple of days off and let the trainers work on his thumb," McRae said. "Hopefully he feels better Tuesday night."

Grieve is batting .094 with 1 double, 7 walks and 11 strikeouts since coming back from the injury.

THE REPLACEMENTS: Four starters got the day off and were replaced by three rookies (Jason Smith, Jason Conti, Felix Escalona) and one veteran (John Flaherty).

Conti went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Escalona and Flaherty singled.

"We gave some guys some time," McRae said. "They all played well. We were a young club on the field today but we played like a veteran club."

VAUGHN FACTS: Greg Vaughn batted .364 with 4 homers, 5 runs scored and 6 RBIs in the series.

Sunday's multihomer game was the 31st of his career and seventh with the Rays, tying him with Fred McGriff for most in club history. Vaughn is the first Ray to have consecutive multihomer games.

"We certainly got Greg Vaughn hot," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "It was a matter of time."

ODDS AND ENDS: Flaherty is expected to start at catcher during the three-game series against Seattle. Toby Hall is scheduled to catch Friday against Oakland. ... Former first-round pick Josh Hamilton was activated from the disabled list after missing time with a strained muscle in his rib cage. The outfielder went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter for Class A Bakersfield on Saturday and was batting .353 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs in 13 games. ... Reliever Jesus Colome, optioned to Triple-A Durham on May 15, made his first appearance for the Bulls on Saturday. He pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed two runs while walking two for the loss.