Winning ways last one more day

Gerald Williams' clutch play supports solid pitching in a 4-3 victory.

By BRANT JAMES

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 13, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild had hoped aloud that Steve Trachsel's 1-0 victory against Boston and ace Pedro Martinez at Fenway Park on Saturday would be the emotional spark for a much-needed win streak.

It wasn't. The Rays lost their next three.

He reiterated the hope before Friday's series opener against Toronto at Tropicana Field: That Trachsel's 1-0 win over New York in Yankee Stadium on Thursday would spark a team with the second-fewest wins in the major leagues.

Wish granted 4-3.

Tampa Bay, which had lost eight of its past 11, won consecutive games for the first time in three weeks as starting pitcher Bryan Rekar gave the Rays a chance with steady pitching and Gerald Williams contributed almost every way an offensive player can. That was enough to overcome one of the worst defensive efforts in franchise history.

[Times photo: Michael Rondou] Albie Lopez closes out the Rays' win with his second save in two nights. He hopes they won't be his last: "I'd love to do it."

"We hung in there and got an opportunity and took advantage of it," Rothschild said. "This is a game I sensed early on we were dragging after playing last night."

Williams figured in each of the Rays' runs, scoring twice, including the eventual winner in the eighth; laying down a crucial bunt in the sixth; and stealing third before scoring in the first. His two-out single off Chris Carpenter in the eighth scored Bubba Trammell from second for a 3-2 lead, and he scored the Rays' final run a batter later on Miguel Cairo's triple into the leftfield corner.

"It's a situation where I tried to do what I could to lend a hand to a victory," said Williams, who extended his season-high hitting streak to nine games.

The fourth run was imperative, as Albie Lopez allowed a homer to Alex Gonzalez in the ninth before earning his second save in two days.

Rick White earned his first win in his 16th appearance this season.

The Rays could not have picked a worse pitcher to face in attempting to cobble their first win streak since April 27-28 at Anaheim. Carpenter was 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA against the Rays last season, with two complete games and a shutout.

He had been similarly effective this season, having won three of his past four starts, but he fell to 3-4 by allowing four runs on eight hits in eight innings.

The Rays managed single runs in the first and sixth before the two-run eighth inning. Williams led off the first with a single and took second when Cairo walked. Williams swiped his second base of the season by barely eluding third baseman Tony Batista's tag. He scored when Greg Vaughn grounded into a double play.

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead in the sixth after Williams advanced Kevin Stocker to second with a bunt, allowing Cairo to pick up his first of two RBI in the game. Stocker led off with a single and scored when Cairo flicked a single to right-center.

Rekar, making his second start since joining the rotation last week, fared much better than in his first, allowing one unearned run on seven hits in six innings, his longest outing since July 5.

The difference, he said, was abandoning the finesse approach that had taken away his aggressiveness. Rothschild and pitching coach Bill Fischer mandated that Rekar begin challenging hitters, and he did, despite not having his best curveball or slider.

"I realized (challenging hitters) was what I did earlier in my career," Rekar said. "As my career went on I tried to nitpick too much. It just got to a point where I said, "S---- it, rare back and throw it.' "

Rekar left with a 2-1 lead, and White nearly made it stand through seven innings, but a double error by shortstop Stocker, his third of the game, allowed the Blue Jays to tie the score. The Rays committed five errors, including a two-out gaffe in the ninth by Ozzie Guillen, who entered at shortstop after Stocker was pinch hit for in the eighth.

Still, Toronto left nine runners on base.

"The pitchers picked us up," Rothschild said. "We've played good defense all year, and I'm not going to point fingers. It happened, and the pitchers picked us up and and you have to do that sometimes.

"It's not too often you win with five errors."

Rekar, who joined the rotation when Ryan Rupe was optioned to Triple-A Durham, lopped more than three runs off his ERA to 3.09. He did not look like a pitcher who had not won since July 10 or at home since April 21, 1999.

It took a two-out fielding error by second baseman Cairo to help the Blue Jays take a 1-0 lead in the first. After Homer Bush singled with one out and Raul Mondesi struck out, Carlos Delgado doubled to right, but Bush was held at third as Trammell recovered the ball quickly. Cairo muffed Trammell's throw, however, and threw wide of home as Bush scored.

Toronto had at least one baserunner in every inning, five of them the leadoff hitter, but was 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

"That happens," manager Jim Fregosi said. "That is why we didn't win the game. They tried to give us as many opportunities as they could."

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