Rays' third straight averts heartbreak

Tampa Bay wins 5-3 in 10 after Miguel Cairo nearly throws game away in ninth.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 7, 2000

PHILADELPHIA -- There was plenty for the Devil Rays to celebrate in Tuesday's 5-3, 10-inning victory over Philadelphia. Mike DiFelice's game-winning hit. Another strong pitching performance by Bryan Rekar. The first three-game winning streak of the season.

And, maybe most of all, how they came back to win after giving away the lead on Miguel Cairo's mind-boggling error with two outs in the ninth.

"After all that we've been through, that's the only thing left to do," manager Larry Rothschild said. "We've seen enough games slip away from us in mysterious ways, and we do keep coming back."

By doing so, the Rays ran off a third straight win after failing in five previous attempts. And they furthered their best stretch of success this season with their fifth win in their past seven games and sixth in 10. They are assured of their first series win in more than six weeks, and third of the season.

With one more victory, they might even shed the label as the team with the worst record in the major leagues, which they share with Houston at 21-36.

"It's that cloud that's been over us, and hopefully, it's breaking up a little bit," DiFelice said.

The Rays won in the 10th when DiFelice, in a 1-for-16 slump, lined a two-run double to left-center. "I just took a real big 2-and-0 hack," he said. "I heard everybody screaming for me to calm down and just make contact. The ball was right out over the plate, and luckily, we got a hit and scored a couple runs."

But DiFelice's heroics should not have been necessary. The Rays were one strike from a regulation victory when Cairo threw it all away with an inexplicable error, gloving Doug Glanville's routine bouncer and, somehow, throwing the ball several feet over the head of first baseman Fred McGriff.

"I just (messed) it up," Cairo said. "I charged it, and I threw it from the palm of my hand. I just made a bad throw."

The Rays still could have won when DiFelice alertly picked up the loose ball and fired to second. But with umpire Derryl Cousins starting his out call, shortstop Felix Martinez, who started a brilliant eighth-inning double play, dropped the ball trying to apply a quick do-or-die tag.

The Phillies cashed in quickly when Kevin Sefcik drilled a run-scoring single to center, and Sefcik got into scoring position by stealing second. But Hernandez came back to strike out Mickey Morandini -- "A big play in that game," Rothschild said -- and force extra innings. Hernandez ended up the winner, and Rick White got his second straight save.

When Cairo threw the ball away, Rekar's chance for a second straight victory went with it. Rekar did just about all he could, throwing 62/3 solid innings, driving in a run with an opposite-field double and chipping in with a key fielding play, tagging out Bobby Abreu at third when the Phillies threatened in the sixth.

The Rays were most happy with Rekar's pitching. He allowed two runs on six hits, struck out a season-high six and, Rothschild said, "he got the outs when he had to." In his past two outings, Rekar has allowed three earned runs in 15 innings.

But what really stood out was his hitting. He had two early chances to help himself with a bunt, striking out with two on in the second when he bunted foul and bunting into a force play in the same situation in the fourth, an even worse play considering Rothschild's signal to take off the bunt was missed.

The Rays let him swing away when he came up with Martinez on second and one out in the sixth, and that was a good thing. McGriff thought so little of Rekar's offensive ability that he offered to buy him a car if he hit a home run, but Rekar almost looked as if he knew what he was doing when he knocked a 1-and-2 pitch past sliding rightfielder Abreu and into the corner to score Martinez. Rekar was thrown out following coach Billy Hatcher's orders to try for third, but he still got the job done, improving his career average to .151.

"I got lucky. The ball hit my bat and found a good place," Rekar said. "Maybe Fred will buy me a used car."

After what the Rays went through Tuesday night, it didn't seem likely they would be joking. But after what they've been through all season, they deserved to enjoy it.

"We've got a good thing going on right now," Cairo said, "and we've got to try and keep it going."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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