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Texas balks in the go-ahead run as Tampa Bay comes back from four down to win 10-6.
By JOHN ROMANO
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rangers and Devil Rays played a game Wednesday night that looked like it was straight out of the 1970s. Back to a simpler time. A time when these guys were 4-foot-3 and playing Little League.
Balks and walks. Wild pitches and wilder swings. More than two dozen hits and eight pitching changes. The only thing missing was the players heading for the concession stands for free sodas afterward.
Yet for all the blunders, the Rays also played with the enthusiasm of 12-year-olds. Eager, attentive and not at all burdened by their sorry record and the four-run deficit they found themselves in.
When it was finally complete, the Rays had their best comeback of the season, beating Texas 10-6 in a three-hour, 37-minute game before an announced 11,164.
"We haven't come from behind that often," manager Hal McRae said. "The energy in the dugout was unbelievable. We felt like we were going to score. I can't say that there have been many occasions when the energy was there to mount a rally and come back. For some stupid reason, we felt from the start we were going to win the ballgame and we were going to score.
"That was a wonderful feeling in the dugout. And I hope it continues, and it comes more frequently."
The go-ahead run scored courtesy of a pair of balks, rookie second baseman Damian Rolls hit his first major-league home run and the game lasted longer than even the most boorish British film.
"It was an ugly game for us," Texas manager Jerry Narron said. "To jump out to a lead then let leadoff man after leadoff man get on base. It was an ugly game."
Gerald Williams singlehandedly manufactured the go-ahead run in the sixth with one line drive and lots of hustle. Williams led off with a liner to right-center that he stretched to a double. With rookie Juan Moreno on the mound, Williams drew a balk when he broke for third on a fake steal attempt. Minutes later, as Williams danced off third, Moreno balked again.
"My job is to try to create something," Williams said. "I was trying to do whatever I could to get us in the game."
With starter Brian Rose making an early exit, and potentially exiting the starting rotation with a third straight subpar effort, Rays relievers came on to give up one earned run while striking out 10 in seven innings.
Dan Wheeler got his first victory of the season and rookie Travis Phelps continued his string of impressive performances, throwing 12/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts. Both Wheeler and Phelps walked Gabe Kapler and found themselves facing Alex Rodriguez with runners on.
Rodriguez struck out both times.
"I guess that was something I needed to work on," Wheeler said, tongue in cheek. "Facing one of the game's best hitters with the bases loaded."
Tampa Bay tied a season high for runs and put the leadoff hitter on base in each of the first seven innings. Yet it was a bloop double that turned the game in the fifth.
The Rays were trailing 6-3 but had runners on first and second with one out when Aubrey Huff lifted an opposite-field pop down the leftfield line.
Rusty Greer reached the ball near the line, but it bounced off the tip of his glove and rolled into foul territory. Third-base umpire Jeff Kellogg ruled that Greer touched the ball in fair territory and Huff ended up with a run-scoring double. Narron argued that Greer's glove was in foul territory when he touched the ball and asked the home-plate umpire to review the call.
"I was petrified," said Huff, worrying about the possibility of the call being overturned. "I was standing on second and saw their manager walk out and I was just praying, 'Please, a little luck, one time this season.' Maybe that will get me going."
Three batters later, the Rays had run-scoring singles from Randy Winn and Andy Sheets, and the score was tied.
So how hot are the Rays? Coupled with Sunday's victory against Detroit, they have won two out of three for the first time since April 24-26. A victory tonight would give the Rays their second series win of the season.
"Maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel," McRae said. "Before, I know it was an onrushing train."