Burnett down and dirty during shutout win
MARLINS 1, RAYS 0: The Marlins starter spoils the return to the majors of Seth McClung.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published June 27, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - Filthy and nasty.
That is how Devil Rays first baseman Travis Lee described the stuff Marlins pitcher A.J. Burnett displayed Sunday at Tropicana Field.
"Filthy" to describe the sliders and changeups Burnett threw that complemented a backdoor curveball and a fastball that now and then hit 97 mph.
"Nasty" as a more generalized term for Burnett's complete-game, two-hitter that punctuated a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay.
"A guy throws a game like that," Lee said, "you just have to tip your hat to him."
It was a fitting end to a frustrating three-game sweep by the Marlins, who held Rays hitters to 13 hits and six runs and also swept the six-game season series.
It also was an appropriate way to end an interleague schedule in which Tampa Bay went a majors-worst 3-15.
Perhaps most disheartening, though, for a team starved for consistent pitching, were the wasted efforts of starter Seth McClung and reliever Chad Orvella, who combined for a three-hitter.
McClung, called up Sunday from Triple-A Durham, made his first big-league start of the season, pitched seven innings, tying a career high, and allowed two hits and five strikeouts. Orvella allowed one hit in two innings with a strikeout.
The blip: A shaky third inning in which McClung loaded the bases with two walks and a single with one out, and walked Miguel Cabrera with two outs to force in a run.
"I got a little greedy trying to strike him out twice and ended up walking him," said McClung, who whiffed Cabrera in the first inning. "I really felt like I let (my teammates) down by walking that guy."
But the Rays let McClung down as well.
Tampa Bay did not get a hit off Burnett until Jonny Gomes' single to led off the third. Nick Green tripled to right-centerfield with one out in the sixth, but Burnett got Kevin Cash and Carl Crawford to ground out to end the threat.
Burnett retired nine in a row after Green's triple and had four straight straight strikeouts in the eighth and ninth innings. He walked two in the ninth but struck out Aubrey Huff to end the game.
The key, the Rays said, was Burnett's pitching style. No longer content to try and blow hitters away, the right-hander used a variety of pitches and speeds. His 44 changeups out of 123 pitches were the most he threw in a game.
"He pitched," Crawford said. "Last time he faced us, he tried to overpower everything. Today he mixed his pitches and kept us off balance."
"If I don't throw my changeup like I threw it today then I'm a complete idiot," said Burnett, who struck out seven, walked two and improved to 5-5 with a 3.14 ERA.
"It just shows you how effective that pitch is. It's good for me to go out there and show I can pitch and not just throw."
Rays manager Lou Piniella has seen enough.
"I'm just glad to get them out of here," he said of the Marlins. "We haven't hit this staff all year."
Of Burnett, he said, "Give him credit. A complete game shutout, yeah, he pitched very well. But our guy (McClung) pitched well too. He kept his velocity through the whole game. One run in seven innings, I think you'll win a lot of ballgames doing that. We just didn't get the job done offensively."
Burnett didn't give them much of a chance.