Rays/MLB

Yanks overmatch decimated Rays

YANKEES 9, RAYS 1: More bad news may await as Jorge Cantu plans to get his ailing foot checked today.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published April 26, 2006

NEW YORK - There have been a number of times over the past eight-plus years that the Devil Rays have come into Yankee Stadium outmanned and unable to match up with the majors' highest-paid and most star-studded squad.

But maybe never like Tuesday, when just getting through the 9-1 loss to the Yankees actually may have been an accomplishment.

With starters Rocco Baldelli, Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo already on the disabled list, the Rays found themselves without two other key players. Jorge Cantu was a late scratch with a troubling recurrence of pain in his bruised left foot, and Carl Crawford missed the game to attend his grandmother's funeral in Houston, though he is expected back today.

"It's not how it was written up during spring training exactly," manager Joe Maddon said. "But the show must go on. We have to go out there, and the backup people have to be able to step up and get it done, and they will. We will.

"It's just a difficult moment right now, that's all. Nobody's quitting."

Cantu's situation should be clarified today when he sees a foot specialist in New York. He sat on the bench dejectedly before the game and acknowledged the problem could be severe.

"It might be something," he said. "I just can't go (play). It's disappointing."

Cantu, the Rays' MVP last season, missed five starts after fouling a ball off his foot April 7, then returned to play 10 games and got a hit in each, but he has not looked comfortable.

"I don't know what's going on," he said. "Right now it's just a bruised foot. We'll see what the doctor says."

The Rays (8-12) were hopeful of continuing last season's success against the Yankees, but the makeshift lineup made it a difficult 2006 debut, especially against Mike Mussina, who allowed four hits over six-plus innings in beating them for a record 14th time.

With only catcher Toby Hall, DH Jonny Gomes and first baseman Travis Lee in their projected positions, the Rays had Ty Wigginton at third, Tomas Perez at shortstop, Nick Green (making his first start since April 16) at second, Damon Hollins in leftfield, Joey Gathright in center and Russell Branyan in right.

"They're beat up a little; they have five guys missing," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "It's a break for us and tough on them, because that's the meat of what they do."

And to make it worse, the Rays didn't play well.

Ace Scott Kazmir - whose every outing is headline news to further torment the Mets for trading him in a deal for Victor Zambrano - kept it close but was not sharp. He allowed seven hits (including a first-inning homer to Derek Jeter on an 0-and-2 slider that didn't slide) and, in a Zambrano-like performance, walked five while needing 101 pitches to get through five innings.

"I had trouble getting a rhythm and I had a hard time getting a feel for my slider," Kazmir said. "It was hard to find a groove."

The Zambrano-Kazmir trade, which was made in July 2004, is still a popular topic in the New York papers. There were stories Tuesday because Zambrano was going to make his next start, suggesting the Mets were keeping him in the rotation to deflect further criticism about the deal.

Wigginton, a former Met returning to New York for the first time, made another error, his sixth, that led to the another run as the Yankees scored three in the first.

Branyan, who misplayed a line drive into a double, struck out his first two times up, extending his streak to six plate appearances and, including a walk Friday, eight official at-bats before grounding out in the seventh.

Rookies Scott Dunn and Ruddy Lugo provided little immediate relief, with Dunn allowing all three hitters he faced to reach base to open the sixth and Lugo giving up two run-scoring hits as the Yankees scored four, marking the major-league high 12th inning in which the Rays have allowed at least that many.

About the only positive development for the Rays happened early: Gomes' first-inning homer was his 10th, matching Jose Canseco (April 1999) and Aubrey Huff (May 2003) for most in a month by a Ray. It was the Rays' 29th, breaking the team record for April. Gomes, who went into Tuesday tied for the AL lead, became the 25th major-leaguer to hit 10 or more in April.

"With some of the regular guys not in the lineup, it makes it a bit more difficult," Maddon said.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:22:18]