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A seesaw battle goes to the Phillies 5-4, but the Rays still finish road swing 3-3.
By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 8, 2000
PHILADELPHIA -- The ending wasn't what the Devil Rays were hoping for, but the journey wasn't bad. The Rays lost a tight 5-4 game to the Phillies on Wednesday, but they come home with a sense they may have found something during a weeklong road trip.
The Rays went 3-3 on the trip, their best six-game stretch of the season, and did most of it without top slugger Greg Vaughn, who started two of the games.
"We've been playing some solid baseball," catcher Mike DiFelice said. "We played six games on this road trip and we were definitely in every ballgame and could easily have won all six.
"That's a good sign when you can be in every ballgame. I think that the mood is definitely better. It definitely seems a little brighter out."
They did it with some good pitching and some clutch hitting, though they also did it under National League rules. They go back to their old style of play, while hoping they don't return to their old style of playing, Friday when the Marlins come to Tropicana Field to open a nine-game homestand.'
The Rays didn't play badly Wednesday but didn't seem to have quite enough. Jose Guillen had a big game, hitting two triples and a double and throwing a runner out at the plate, but he could have used some help.
A 3-1 lead evaporated in the fifth, and the Rays couldn't get back ahead. Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini made a leaping catch to end a Tampa Bay rally in the seventh, and Ron Gant hit a mammoth upper-deck home run off Mark Guthrie in the bottom of the inning to provide the winning margin.
"I don't think I ever hit a ball that far," Gant said. "I almost missed first because it scared me that the ball went that far."
The Rays took a 3-1 lead in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Randy Winn and Guillen's two-run triple, which hit high on the rightfield fence.
They might have had more, but the Phillies guessed right on a pitchout and caught Winn between first and second, then ran him down quickly enough that Felix Martinez couldn't break for home from third.
The Phillies came back with three runs off starter Albie Lopez to go up 4-3. Gant doubled in one run, then Lopez loaded the bases by walking Bobby Abreu and Mike Lieberthal and gave up a two-run single to Pat Burrell, the rookie from the University of Miami.
Guillen stopped them from expanding the lead when he rifled a throw home to nail Lieberthal for the final out.
For Guillen, the game showcased his impressive, but inconsistent, abilities. "I just tried to relax a little bit," he said. "I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself trying to do too much."
Lopez pitched well, but not as well as in his first two starts, giving up nine hits, including four doubles, in six innings. "Same as always," Lopez said. "I'm putting the ball in the strike zone. Today they just didn't hit it at guys."
Guillen brought the Rays back again, driving in the tying run with a two-out double to left-center. They had a chance to go ahead when Fred McGriff walked to end Philadelphia starter Robert Person's night, and Vinny Castilla greeted reliever Chris Brock with a rocket shot to the right side, but Morandini leaped high to snag the ball.
"Vinny hit that ball solid, he just didn't hit it to the right spot," manager Larry Rothschild said.
Guthrie, who had been throwing well, would like his 1-and-1 split-finger pitch to Gant back, but he'd have to go a long way to get it. Gant launched the ball into the leftfield upper deck, the 55th ball in stadium history to reach such heights.
"It was a bad pitch, obviously," Guthrie said. "I tried to go low in the zone but I got it up. He did a nice job with it."
The Rays had one more shot when Gerald Williams singled with two out in the ninth, but Guillen struck out chasing a high fastball from closer Jeff Brantley.
As disappointed as the Rays were after the game, they didn't seem nearly as down as they had been.
"If we started from a week ago, we're definitely a different baseball team than the previous two months," DiFelice said. "I think it's important now to keep it simple, keep it small and not really get concerned with the big picture right now."