Worst wound is in bullpen

Frightful-looking injuries to Navarro, Upton not serious.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
Published June 9, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] Rays catcher Dioner Navarro is helped by manager Joe Maddon (left) and a trainer after being injured during the sixth inning against the Florida Marlins. [AP photo] B.J. Upton (center) is lead back to the dugout by first base coach George Hendrick (left) and a trainer after Upton injured himself running to first base during the first inning Friday night.

MIAMI - Dioner Navarro, the Rays' starting catcher, was taken from the field on a stretcher after being struck in the throat by a bounced pitch. B.J. Upton, one of their most productive hitters, was helped from the field after straining the quadriceps muscle in his left leg.

Both injuries, which appeared serious at the time, were not, manager Joe Maddon said after the game.

The poor work by the Devil Rays bullpen, however, was a significant concern as the Rays let another big early lead get away in a 14-8 loss to the Marlins in a rain-delayed game that ended early this morning.

Tuesday, the Rays blew leads of 8-1 and 11-6 and lost in Toronto. Friday, they led 8-2 in the fifth. Brian Stokes, Tim Corcoran and Chad Orvella all did their part in the demise, and from what Maddon said afterward, a bullpen shakeup may be looming.

"It's very frustrating, " Maddon said. "We get a big lead and give it up again and it's just unacceptable. We can't do those things. We just can't do those things. That's twice in a matter of a couple days to lose games we should have won. That's just wrong. We have to do something to make ourselves better."

If the pitchers can't do better, then the next step would be try to find better pitchers. Asked if changes were indeed coming, Maddon said: "I just need to talk to Andrew Friedman, the executive vice president. That's unacceptable. You just can't be that way. You just can't."

Navarro appeared to be in considerable distress after Stokes' sixth-inning pitch bounced and struck him in the throat. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to Broward General Hospital, where evaluations and tests were ongoing this morning but reports were good.

"He's fine, " Maddon said. "I can't give you any more specifics than that, just that he's going to be fine."

Maddon said Navarro was coughing and trying to clear his throat. But Marlins batter Josh Willingham said: "He couldn't breathe. You could hear him gasping."

Stokes said: "It was just a scary moment."

Upton had to be helped off the field in the first inning after what he said was a strain of the quadriceps muscle in his left leg. Upton said he felt better already by the end of the game and thought he would need only a couple of days to recover.

"It's a little sore. I can move it and walk on it. It's not too bad. We'll see the next couple days how it goes, " he said. "I don't see it being a DL situation at all."

Upton, who was to play centerfield, pulled up running out a ground ball, writhing on the ground in severe pain for several minutes, and admitted at the time he thought it was a serious injury. He said the leg had been sore, but he kept playing.

Amid the pain of the injuries, the Rays (26-33) blew an another big lead, and Corcoran again walked in the decisive run. For the night, they walked a season-high 11 and the 14 runs allowed matched the season high.

Friday's game started after a 1-hour, 26-minute rain delay, and the initial innings were played at glacial pace as both pitchers struggled to get adjusted, the first inning featuring 66 pitches and taking 36 minutes.

Despite striking out a career-best nine, Rays starter J.P. Howell wasn't as sharp Friday as in his stellar season debut Sunday. Maybe that had something to do with odd pacing of the night, such as Howell coming to the plate before he went to the mound. (He later got his first hit and RBI.)

Given a 4-0 lead, he threw 28 pitches in the first inning and 19 in the second and handed half of it back. He settled down a bit, then made a big mess in the fifth, allowing a walk and two singles, then giving up a grand slam to Jeremy Hermida that cut the 8-2 advantage to 8-6.

Howell was done after five, and it didn't take long for Stokes, already demoted from setup work to middle relief, to give up the rest of the lead. He allowed a double, then two-out run-scoring hits to Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera.

Stokes left in a double-switch after his 1-and-1 pitch to Josh Willingham struck Navarro, with Raul Casanova taking over behind the plate. Corcoran walked Willingham, and Hermida and Aaron Boone to make it 9-8.

It only got worse from there as the Marlins scored five more runs in the seventh against Corcoran and Chad Orvella, and the Rays had utility infielder Josh Wilson pitch the eighth, his pro pitching appearance .

Navarro is the third Rays catcher to be injured in the last month, and they are running out of options. The current Triple-A starter is Joshua Johnson.

The Rays were seeking to win three consecutive road games for the first time in more than a year, since Sept. 25-28, 2005.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8801. View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/rays.

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[Last modified June 9, 2007, 02:18:18]