New guy delivers welcome walkoff

Joel Guzman's memorable debut caps a thrilling rally for the Rays in 12 innings.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published August 20, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [James Borchuck | Times] Joel Guzman is congratulated by Dioner Navarro, 30 after knocking in the winning run in the 12th. [James Borchuck | Times] Teammates mob Joel Guzman after he knocked in the winning run in the 12th to give the Rays a 4-3 win over the Indians.

ST. PETERSBURG - There was so much that went into the Devil Rays' 4-3 12-inning victory over the Indians on Sunday. So much beyond the six innings of dazzling relief, the two-out tying single by Carl Crawford in the 10th, the solid six-inning start from James Shields and the key home runs by Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton, who also made a series of spectacular running catches.

There was the all-night packing session and the 7 a.m. flight from Durham that got the newest Ray, Joel pronounced jo-EL Guzman, to Tropicana Field in plenty of time for Sunday's matinee. There was manager Joe Maddon's 11th-inning decision to use Guzman at shortstop, where he had played once in two years, rather than put Greg Norton in the outfield and shift Upton to second - doubly smart when Upton made two more eye-opening catches. There was Jonny Gomes' leadoff double in the 12th that ticked the leftfield line ("Tennis rules, lines are in," he cracked), and his three-step shuffle before breaking for home.

And, most important, there was Guzman's memorable first at-bat as a Ray, a two-strike single that scored Gomes to deliver a stirring walkoff win and ignite a raucous reception from his new teammates.

"What could be better in that situation?" Guzman said. "My first major-league hit with the Devil Rays and also a walkoff hit. I was a little excited. I didn't know what to do. It was amazing."

Held hitless into the fourth by Indians ace C.C. Sabathia, the Rays (47-76) came up with one big play, big hit and big out after another.

Upton's two-out homer in the fourth was their first hit - "(It) told us all there was hope," Maddon said - and ended their eight-plus game streak without one. Pena ended his 13-game drought in the seventh, a 432-foot shot off the roof of the Batter's Eye restaurant that was his career-high-matching 27th of the season, to tie in the seventh.

Gary Glover and Dan Wheeler put up zeroes, and when the Indians scratched out a run in Al Reyes' second inning, the Rays answered against closer Joe Borowski in their 10th, with a two-out walk by Dioner Navarro and singles by Akinori Iwamura and Crawford.

Scott Dohmann took it from there, wriggling out of trouble in the 12th, to cap what Maddon called a "fabulous" relief job - one run in six innings. "Doh-mann really was the hero right there," he said.

Perhaps, but Guzman, in his ninth big-league game, ended up the unlikely star, with Gomes adding some drama. With the count 1-and-2, Guzman was trying just to put the ball in play and grounded it up the middle. Gomes, unsure where shortstop Jhonny Peralta was, first broke back to second - "I think it was three steps and a knuckle drag to get me going back the other way," he said - then raced home without much of an effort from centerfielder Grady Sizemore.

It was quite a debut for Guzman, the 22-year-old acquired from the Dodgers in the July 2006 Julio Lugo deal who was once an elite prospect but had become something of a question. A so-so performance at Triple-A Durham (.242, 16 homers, 64 RBIs, 116 strikeouts, .691 OPS) didn't do much to help. But the Rays needed an infielder with Ben Zobrist hurt, and though Guzman has been playing first and third they figured he could fill in if needed at short, his natural position before he grew to 6 feet 6. Ten innings into his first game, it was time.

"There was so much stuff going through my mind when I got here," Guzman said. "I got called up, I packed all last night, I got no sleep. I was excited to watch the game, and I was happy to be here."

The Rays were happy to have him.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/rays.

[Last modified August 19, 2007, 23:53:53]