Rays/MLB

Wiggy's return is worth the wait

Rays 2, Mariners 1: Ty Wigginton, fresh off the disabled list, singles in the winner in the ninth.

By TOM JONES
Published September 2, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Ty Wigginton couldn't get to Tropicana Field in time to start Friday's game. That was all right. He was there when it mattered most.

At the end.

The fan favorite gave the home crowd another reason to love him Friday night, delivering a two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Devil Rays a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners in front of 11,196 at Tropicana Field.

Call it a nice ending to a very long day for Wigginton, who needed more than 10 hours to get from Durham to Tropicana Field on Friday. Out since July 29 with a broken bone in his left hand, Wigginton was with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate on a rehabilitation stint. He arrived at Raleigh-Durham Airport at 7:30 a.m., fully expecting to land in Tampa by early afternoon.

Instead, weather delays kept him roaming around the airport watching television until 1 p.m. before boarding a flight to Charlotte. He finally rushed through the doors of the clubhouse at 6:45 p.m.

Too late to start the game, but early enough to win it.

"We got Wiggy on an airplane just in time," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I don't know what airline it was, but I sincerely thank them."

For Wigginton, it was his first swing of a bat in two days because Durham was rained out Wednesday.

"It worked out all right," Wigginton said. "First swing in two days and it came through for me."

The winning rally started with two outs when Dioner Navarro walked and moved to third on Jorge Cantu's single. Then Wigginton ended six weeks of frustration.

"Being on the (disabled list) is the worst thing ever," Wigginton said. "It's probably worse than getting sent to the minor leagues. You want to be out there contributing, be out there competing. It was nice to come back and do that."

The game also marked the home debut of Rays rookie outfielder Delmon Young, who didn't take long to introduce himself. On just the second at-bat of the game, Young showed off his powerful right arm, gunning down the speedy Ichiro Suzuki, who was attempting to go from first base to third on a single to right.

"You just hope to make a good throw," Young said. "I thought I had a chance at him because the ball gets to you so quickly on the turf."

Young might have been the only one in the ballpark who thought he had a chance at cutting down one of the fastest runners in baseball. Well, Young and Maddon.

"Well, with (Young) out there, I thought we had a chance," Maddon said. "It was so accurate, it was sick."

At the plate, Young struggled, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Then again, he was far from the only batter to have a rough night at the plate.

Tampa Bay's James Shields and Seattle's Gil Meche dominated, each holding the other team to a mere run, Shields for seven innings and Meche for eight. Shields allowed only a homer to Kenji Johjima in the second, while Meche's mistake was giving up a run-scoring single to Rocco Baldelli in the fifth.

Shields settled down after a rough start and was helped defensively by Young's throw and a gem at third from B.J. Upton.

"I just wanted to attack them and keep us in it," said Shields, who allowed five hits. "I wanted to give us a chance to win, and I did thanks to Wiggy. He's Mr. Clutch."

And on Friday, he was right on time.

[Last modified September 2, 2006, 01:57:51]