Series ends with all wins

RAYS 8, RANGERS 3: Homers by Winn, Sandberg, pitching of Zambrano the keys in a sweep of Texas.

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 2, 2002

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The early-season accomplishment created hope and excitement about a ballclub that soon would flutter back to reality.

After completing a season-opening three-game sweep against the Tigers in April at Tropicana Field, the Rays lost 89 of their next 132 games. It took until Sunday, more than four months later, for them to duplicate the feat.

With an 8-3 win in front of 29,158 at the Ballpark in Arlington, Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers in the finale of the longest and arguably most eventful road trip this season.

"We don't sweep too often," manager Hal McRae said. "Usually we're the floor and not the broom. We understand the feeling. We've known defeat for the past couple of years."

The Rays, who went 17 consecutive series without winning one, had not swept a road series since beating the Royals four times in July 2000.

How long ago was that? Only nine of the 26 players in a Rays uniform Sunday were around then.

Randy Winn was one of those.

The Rays centerfielder and third baseman Jared Sandberg hit towering home runs off Rangers starter Dennys Reyes in a decisive four-run fourth inning that provided enough of a cushion for pitcher Victor Zambrano and reliever Lance Carter.

The Rays scored four more in the eighth inning.

"We haven't won a series in a long time. It was first good to do that," Winn said. "Then a sweep is even better."

The win was a positive way to start the final month of the season, one that promises to be among the most challenging. The Rays play 17 of their last 26 games against playoff contenders Anaheim, Boston and New York.

It was a more than an adequate parting gift for a road trip that began Aug. 19 and ended 13 games later after a players strike was avoided on Friday.

"We've got a long way before we can start feeling good about anything," shortstop Chris Gomez said. "But it's a start. Hopefully we can finish strong this year and have something to look forward to next year."

Making his sixth start since being plucked from the bullpen, the right-handed Zambrano allowed two runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out three in six innings.

Zambrano is 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 36 1/3innings as a starter. Carter picked up his first major-league save in a three-inning performance that was his first in the majors since late 1999.

Rays relievers allowed two runs in 13 2/3 innings and were 2-0 with three saves against Texas in the series. The offense produced 24 runs on 37 hits.

"We've kind of been inconsistent," Winn said. "The days we pitch well, we don't hit. The days we hit well we haven't pitched well. Or it's defense or something.

"But this series we put it all together."

Tampa Bay was held to one hit through the first three innings Sunday but shook loose in the fourth.

Winn led off with a 422-foot homer to leftfield. After catcher Toby Hall and first baseman Steve Cox walked, Sandberg delivered a homer to right-centerfield that made it 4-0.

It was Sandberg's 17th homer this season, but first since Aug. 24 against the White Sox at Comiskey Park.

Zambrano didn't falter until the sixth, when the Rangers cut the Rays' lead to two with a two-out, two-run homer to leftfield by catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

After a visit to the mound by pitching coach Jackie Brown, Zambrano allowed a single and a walk, and Rangers second baseman Michael Young came up representing the go-ahead run.

Young grounded to third to end the inning.

Zambrano was relieved before the start of the seventh. Carter, who was called up from Triple-A Durham on Saturday, made his first major-league appearance "There were a lot of things that went into this," Carter said.

Pitching for the Royals that day, Carter went two-thirds of an inning against the Tigers. On Sunday, he initially looked nervous in the seventh but escaped without allowing a run, leaving two runners on base.

The Rays put the game out of reach with a four-run eighth, and Carter allowed one run, a homer in the ninth. Cox hit a run-scoring double, and Gomez hit a three-run triple off the leftfield wall to give Tampa Bay an 8-2 lead.

"What teams do to us a lot of times, when they're up two or three runs, they don't want to stop and don't want to quit," catcher Toby Hall said. "We got that feeling tonight. That's what we're all trying to strive for."