RAYS 8, RED SOX 3: An outburst against ace Curt Schilling gets a tough stretch off to a promising start.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published August 10, 2004
[AP photo]
Aubrey Huff follows the flight of his team-leading 21st home run, a two-run shot in the fifth inning, when the Devil Rays scored three off Boston's Curt Schilling to take a 3-1 lead.
BOSTON - There are some lessons for the Devil Rays to learn the next few weeks. They could be hard. They could be valuable. They definitely will not be easy.
That's why Monday night's 8-3 victory over the Red Sox in front of a sellout crowd of 35,172 at Fenway Park was so satisfying.
And not just the four home runs, or the three hit in the sixth inning to tie a team record. Or that the Rays battered starter Curt Schilling, whose 13 wins are tied for second in the league.
After four games in Boston, Tampa Bay faces the Rangers, Angels and A's, all of whom are hip-deep in a playoff race. Not to mention an overall stretch in which 27 of 39 games are on the road.
The players know you don't take major steps in the standings until you learn to win in hostile territory.
"For the most part these are almost our playoff games," third baseman Geoff Blum said. "For us to play a top-tier team as tough as we did today on the road. Guys are going to gain a lot of experience from this."
"It's harder for teams with below .500 records to win on the road," manager Lou Piniella said. "But, you know, coming into Boston, going to New York, it's experience and you get a lot from it.
"There's a reason teams are in first place or second place and with winning records. It's because they play good at home. To beat them in their own ballpark, you need to score runs."
The Rays led 3-2 through five innings and already had Aubrey Huff's 21st home run in the bank when they took off the gloves.
Tino Martinez started the sixth with a shot to rightfield, his 17th home run. Blum singled and came home on Toby Hall's blast over the Green Monster.
That finished Schilling, but Julio Lugo finished the assault with a two-out job off the rightfield foul pole on an 0-and-2 pitch from Terry Adams.
Lugo had three hits in the game as did Blum, who had four hits in his previous 33 at-bats.
Add a solid effort from starter John Halama, who pitched six innings, struck out six and walked none to improve to 6-5, and good relief work from Travis Harper and Lance Carter, who combined for three scoreless innings, and there were reasons to smile.
One was the thrashing given Schilling, who got his first loss this season at Fenway after baffling the Rays a week ago at the Trop. This time, the Rays were much more aggressive at the plate. They fouled off numerous pitches, which forced longer counts.
Tampa Bay took advantage of the inevitable mistakes. Huff's home run came off a cut fastball left over the plate. Hall's was off a splitter that did nothing, and Martinez hit a high changeup.
It continued a horrible stretch for Red Sox pitchers, who have allowed 11 home runs in two games, including seven in Sunday's win over the Tigers.
"It was disappointing. It was bad," Schilling said. "The starting pitcher has to create or maintain momentum. I didn't do that."
The Rays did, with 13 hits building on their 15-hit effort in Sunday's win over the Mariners. Not bad for a team that had 10-plus hits in just two of its previous 18 games but which seems to have taken Piniella's urgings in Sunday's team meeting to heart.
"Just a little focus and intensity. That was the major message," Piniella said. "Let's hope it continues."
After snapping a nine-game road losing streak, there is still so much to learn.
