Joy of wins continues to recede

TWINS 8, RAYS 1: Three victories against the Yankees have given way to two losses to Minnesota.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published May 8, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The memory is still there. It's just not as vivid, and the rush of adrenaline has given way to harsh reality.

The Devil Rays lost 8-1 to the Twins on Saturday night at Tropicana Field. Combined with the Yankees' victory over the A's, Tampa Bay is by itself in last place in the American League East.

Funny how these things play out.

Just three nights ago, the Rays reveled in their third consecutive win over New York, a streak that included 28 runs and 40 hits. But after consecutive losses to Minnesota in which Tampa Bay was outscored 15-2 and managed just 13 hits, the silence in the clubhouse made it seem as if cotton was stuffed in one's ears.

"Baseball is a different game," manager Lou Piniella said. "Every game is a little different. Every series is a little different. You'd like to see it carry forward, but it doesn't happen."

It has created an interesting circumstance. Tampa Bay won five of seven against the Red Sox and Yankees in the past 16 days but lost all eight to the Blue Jays, Orioles and Twins.

"I can tell you we play so much different when we play those teams, it's incredible," shortstop Julio Lugo said of New York and Boston. "We lose to those people, but we play good. When we play somebody else, we don't seem like we go up there and do what we do against those guys."

Maybe it is because more fans attend those games. Maybe the Rays have something to prove after going 9-29 last season against the Yankees and Red Sox.

"Whatever it is," Lugo said, "we become more hungry to beat them."

Saturday's game was one of extremes.

Rays starter Scott Kazmir no-hit the Twins through four but gave up four runs on six hits, including two doubles, in the fifth.

Minnesota scored in just two innings but got four in each with Justin Morneau's three-run home run off Trever Miller highlighting the ninth.

Tampa Bay had runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth but went 0-for-8 with a sacrifice fly in such situations against starter Kyle Lohse and reliever Scott Baker.

The top six in the batting order - Alex Sanchez, Lugo, Carl Crawford, Aubrey Huff, Josh Phelps and Jorge Cantu - went a combined 2-for-22. And in the final three innings, Tampa Bay sent just 10 men to the plate.

"The difference in the game was when they got men on base, they brought them in," Piniella said. "When we got men on base, we didn't. Sooner or later, we're going to have to start getting those guys in.

"We've tried different combinations and everybody here has gotten an opportunity." Torii Hunter led off the fifth with a double past a diving Cantu at third. Mike Redmond and Jason Bartlett had consecutive run-scoring singles. Lew Ford's two-run double made it 4-1.

It might have been worse had Kazmir, 0-4 despite a 3.95 ERA, not made a terrific play to field Shannon Stewart's chopper and throw to Toby Hall, who tagged Redmond at the plate.

"They're a good ballclub," Piniella said of the Twins. "They put the ball in play. They know how to play the game."

And they are not doing it from memory.

[Last modified May 8, 2005, 00:46:16]