Zambrano solid in eighth start

ST. PETERSBURG -- The question doesn't seem to be whether Victor Zambrano can be a starter. He showed Thursday that he belonged on the mound.

"All year he seems to come out there and get better and better as a starter," catcher Toby Hall said. "He's proven himself."

Still, Zambrano has started only eight times in the majors, so questions remain as to whether he'll stay in the rotation after this season.

"We're looking for starters, and he's done well," manager Hal McRae said after Zambrano gave up four hits in a career-high seven innings and left with a 3-2 lead that dissolved into a 6-3 loss to the Red Sox. "I thought he had outstanding stuff. ... He only threw 83 pitches, his most innings with the least amount of pitches. There's a direct correlation between pitch count and stuff for me."

McRae said, however, that Zambrano must make progress. He's not simply going to be handed a spot in the rotation.

"We don't need to give any player a job," McRae said. "We've given too many, and we sort of paid the price for it, and it hasn't worked out. I hope he would start. I think he has the stuff to start. It's a matter of whether he wants it bad enough."

Zambrano said he didn't see the ninth inning, when Boston scored four runs and was helped by first baseman Steve Cox's decision to cut off a throw home that might have nailed Nomar Garciaparra at the plate and preserved a one-run lead.

"I was in (the clubhouse), exercising like I do after every game," he said. "I know what happened. But we don't try to do things like that on purpose. We try to do everything right. All we can do from a game like this is learn."

COMING UP: The Rays are expected to call up outfielder Rocco Baldelli and right-hander Dewon Brazelton from Triple-A Durham, along with Bulls manager Bill Evers and pitching coach Joe Coleman, after the end of the International League championship series against Buffalo. The Bulls swept the best-of-five series with a 2-0 win at Durham.

Baldelli was named Baseball America's minor-leaguer of the year, the first Rays prospect to win the honor. He started the season with Class A Bakersfield, was promoted to Double-A Orlando and then to the Bulls, batting a combined .331 with 19 home runs, 71 RBIs and 26 steals.

WINTER BREAK: After a frustrating season like this, Hall wants to get away, preferably to Puerto Rico for about a month. He hopes a stint in winter ball will help him leave behind the frustration of 2002.

"After a season like this, you need to go somewhere else to wind down a little bit," he said. "If we all leave here like this and then come back to spring training, we won't have anything to compare it to. I'll be going for a little change of atmosphere and environment, then be ready to rock and roll in February."

NUMBERS DON'T LIE: The Rays finished the homestand 1-9, the third-worst in franchise history. The four-game series sweep by the Red Sox was the third against the Rays this season. Tampa Bay lost all 10 homes to the Red Sox this season and 11 in a row going back to 2001, its longest home losing streak to any team. The last time a team went 0-10 or worse at home against one opponent in a season was 1954, when the Red Sox were 0-11-2 against the Indians.

Boston also holds the major-league record for consecutive wins in an opponent's park at 18 from 1911-13 in New York, and had not won 10 straight at an opponent's park in one season since 1912.

RAYS BITS: This was the 33rd Rays game decided in the ninth inning or later. They are 12-21 in those. ... Aubrey Huff's team-high 23rd home run was the fifth in his past eight games. ... The Rays of Hope golf tournament, with more than 20 players and coaches participating, has been rescheduled for noon Monday at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club. It was rained out Aug. 21. ... The Rays are 6-66 in games when they score fewer than four runs. ... The 2003 Rays schedule will be released next week. Pocket schedules will be distributed at the final six home games Sept. 17-22 against the Yankees and Blue Jays.