Rays can't solve Royals rookie

ROYALS 6, RAYS 2: Jimmy Gobble is baffling again in his second start against Tampa Bay in a week.

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]

Raul Ibanez slids into home and covers up as Rays pitcher Victor Zambrano waits for a throw that never came after a wild pitch in the second.

ST. PETERSBURG - Not to be cruel, but there were plenty of signs that Saturday was going to be an odd night for the Devil Rays.

The Tropicana Field roof leaking. A pregame wedding behind home plate. Elvis impersonators on the field. Carl Crawford missing the game after spraining his right ankle in a batting practice collision with general manager Chuck LaMar's 10-year-old son, Charlie. Top winner Victor Zambrano missing the plate more than usual.

But their biggest problem in a 6-2 loss to the Royals was trying to solve the mystery of Jimmy Gobble, the 22-year-old rookie who shut them down, and nearly shut them out, for the second time in a week.

"I'm glad we're not going to see him anymore this year," Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "He certainly doesn't pitch like a rookie out of Double A. He's got a pretty good feel for pitching at a young age."

Gobble has been double trouble, shutting out the Rays for six innings Sunday in his major-league debut, then blanking them into the seventh Saturday before Damian Rolls, the 50th big-league hitter he faced, knocked a ball into the seats.

After seven days in the big leagues, Gobble, the 43rd pick of the 1999 draft, is 2-0 with an 0.73 ERA for a first-place team.

"It's basically living a dream," Gobble said.

"Amazing," Rocco Baldelli said. "But he's a good pitcher."

Zambrano has been the Rays' most successful pitcher, though he has been winning ugly, leading the league in walks (77), hit batters (15) and wild pitches (14). In winning seven of his previous eight decisions, he was able to overcome his mistakes and get the key outs when he needed to.

Saturday, he seemed all shook up. And when he gave up seven hits, walked a season-high matching six, hit one batter and threw three wild pitches, one that scored a run, during a 117-pitch outing, it was too much.

"I didn't think he had good rhythm out there," Piniella said. "It seemed like his timing was a little off."

Zambrano didn't say much after losing for only the second time since June 8, except that he didn't think there was anything that needed to be fixed. "Nothing wrong, nothing different," he said. "It was just a different baseball game out there tonight."

The second inning was an indication of the hard knocks ahead, when the Royals scored two runs on one single. Raul Ibanez led off with a hit and Joe Randa walked. Zambrano threw a wild pitch while striking out Desi Relaford, advancing the runners to second and third, then another three pitches later that allowed Ibanez to score and Randa to move to third. Brent Mayne's sacrifice fly made it 2-0, and the Rays couldn't catch up.

It seemed to be now or never in the fourth when, down 3-0, they got two on, then two outs, before Rolls singled to center. Baldelli raced home and appeared to graze the plate with his left hand as he slid by, but umpire Ed Rapuano made no signal. Baldelli waited to see what happened, and Mayne turned and tagged him out.

"It was a real, real close call. If he did (touch the plate), he touched the black," Piniella said. "On a play like that, when the catcher is sitting there, you just come into the dugout. You make it emphatic that, "I did touch home plate.' Make the umpire come get you out of the dugout. Sell it."

With a win, the Rays would have matched their best 20-game stretch in team history. Still, their 12-8 record since July 20 matches Boston for the best in the AL East.