OAKLAND 5, RAYS 0: Tampa Bay loses its 10th in 11 games, and Aubrey Huff leaves the game with back spasms.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published August 22, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The A's can hit. Boy can they hit, and not just the measly singles the Devil Rays seem to like so much, but long, arching home runs that spell doom for foes.
Oakland hit three in Saturday night's 5-0 victory over Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. That's 14 home runs in its past four games, seven in the first two games of the three-game series that wraps up today.
That's tough to deal with when you manage five hits divided among three players, and speedy outfielder Carl Crawford takes himself out of two scoring opportunities with base-running mistakes.
"They're swinging the bats. They're hitting for power," Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "We don't hear much about them because we're here in Florida and they're out in California in the Western Division. But they have a nice ballclub. They really do."
And then there's Tampa Bay. The team has lost four straight and 10 of its past 11.
It also could be without its best hitter, as Aubrey Huff left the game in the first inning with back spasms sustained running out a ground ball to first base.
Huff, who has played 398 consecutive games, the second longest streak in the majors, was treated during the game and given medication. He said he is day-to-day.
The way things are going, the Rays need everything they can get.
A's starter Barry Zito baffled Tampa Bay with a fastball, changeup, curve combination, struck out six in eight innings and retired the last seven he faced.
Bobby Crosby, who hit his second homer in as many games, and Marco Scutaro went back-to-back to the same section in leftfield to start the third inning. And Mark Kotsay homered in the fifth to help first-place Oakland to its fifth straight win.
"They're swinging the bats well," said Rays starter John Halama, who gave up all three home runs as well as five runs and eight hits in five innings.
"They're a team fighting for a playoff spot, and they're going out and getting it done. We haven't matched their intensity at all to slow them down in any way. They're outplaying us right now in every aspect of the game."
There were a couple of bright spots for Tampa Bay. Crawford and designated hitter B.J. Upton had two hits each. Crawford made a sensational diving catch in left-centerfield in the eighth inning. And reliever Frankie Nunez threw a 100-mph pitch while retiring five of the seven batters he faced, the last four with strikeouts.
But the Rays could not solve Zito, who relies more on location than velocity and gave up only one extra-base hit, a double, to Upton.
"I can't remember the last time I felt this good," Zito (9-9) said.
"He had his stuff going," Crawford said. "He had that big hanging curveball working and his changeup. He was keeping the hitters off balance. When a pitcher has all his pitches working, he can be tough to deal with."
The Rays have been surprisingly easy with which to deal. Halama said that must change if the team is to break out of its slump and reach the 70-win mark it so covets.
Being a bit more aware on the bases would help. Crawford nullified his first-inning single with a mistake on Huff's groundout to first. Crawford, running on the pitch, said he believed the ball was popped up. He was caught in a rundown trying to get back to first.
In the sixth, when A's third baseman Eric Chavez bobbled Jose Cruz's ground ball, Crawford broke from third base and was thrown out at home.
The good thing was Crawford tried to make things happen.
"We have to match intensity and go out there and maybe be a spoiler and give a couple of teams some losses," Halama said. "Make it more interesting for them."
