Rays/MLB

Rays can't break Halladay

JAYS 4, RAYS 1: Tampa Bay fails to cash in on chances against Toronto's ace, 2-0 vs. the Rays this season.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published May 24, 2006

[AP Photo]

Rays DH Greg Norton shatters his bat while hitting a second-inning single off Roy Halladay, who otherwise was in complete command.

TORONTO - The Devil Rays knew the only way they'd have a chance Tuesday against Toronto ace Roy Halladay was to make the best of their chances.

Doing it turned out to be the problem.

And a frustrating 4-1 loss was the result.

"You really don't get too many chances because he doesn't give in," Carl Crawford said. "You just pretty much have to hope. You pretty much have to get lucky."

The Rays, though, weren't lucky or good.

They wasted a first-inning opportunity when Crawford failed to get down a bunt and when Jonny Gomes and Aubrey Huff failed to score a runner from third.

They got only one run out of a second-inning opportunity as Greg Norton grounded into a fielder's choice, then was caught stealing when Travis Lee failed to make contact on a hit-and-run.

And when they finally got another opportunity in the sixth - after Halladay retired 10 straight - by getting two on with one out, Gomes grounded into a double play.

"When you face a guy like that you've got to do everything right, pretty much," Toby Hall said. "It's tough. You pretty much have to be perfect."

Halladay's dominance was certainly no surprise. The veteran right-hander, who improved to 6-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.77, did the same to the Rays 10 days earlier at Tropicana Field, holding them to three hits in a complete game 8-1 win.

Tuesday was more of the same, a steady stream of pitches buried at the bottom of the strike zone that the Rays repeatedly beat into the ground.

"It's almost boring playing behind him," Jays centerfielder Vernon Wells said. "He makes it easy."

Halladay allowed seven hits - six singles - while recording 15 outs on ground balls over 82/3 innings. Manager John Gibbons, who called Halladay "arguably the best pitcher in the game," was booed when he summoned B.J. Ryan for the 27th out.

"He just pounded the ball to the bottom of the zone," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Look at his numbers against lefties (Crawford, Huff and Lee were a combined 1-for-10). ... He's the starter's version of Mariano Rivera. You just can't clear out his pitches from a left-handed perspective."

The problem, Crawford said, is a two-seam fastball that breaks dramatically away.

"You think it's a strike right down the middle, and at the last second it falls and dips and he gets you to hit it into the ground," he said. "That's why you see so many ground balls."

Rays starter Mark Hendrickson did his part during his six innings, battling a lack of rhythm and command to hold the Jays to two runs, Shea Hillenbrand's leadoff homer in the second and Troy Glaus' double after Vernon Wells' two-out single in the third.

His only shortcoming was not being able to pitch longer, having thrown 106 pitches.

"Tonight was probably the first time physically where I really felt a little out of synch," Hendrickson said. "I know that's maybe hard to understand given the results, but I really felt I was battling to keep the ball down in the strike zone and as a result I gave up a lot of hits (eight)."

Still, Hendrickson gave the Rays a chance, leaving with the score 2-1. But the bullpen immediately made it worse and didn't even wait until the usually troubling eighth inning.

Travis Harper didn't pitch any better as a 30-year-old - his birthday was Sunday - than he did at 29. He allowed singles to the only two batters he faced to open the seventh and both eventually scored, making eight runs charged against Harper over his past four outings.

The Rays knew runs would be precious against Halladay, and when they came out of the first two innings with only one, they had a good idea they were in trouble. There just wasn't much they could do about it.

"We had some opportunities," Maddon said. "We had runners in the right spots. We had some good hitters up there. We just couldn't get it done. That's why he's as good as he is."

[Last modified May 24, 2006, 02:45:18]