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By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 1, 2001
NEW YORK -- Ryan Rupe knows what it looks like on the stat sheet, that he has a 4-7 record and 7.15 ERA.
But he also knows he's better than that.
Rupe, the occasionally dominant right-hander, had a strong showing Saturday in a 5-4 loss at Yankee Stadium.
Pitching in stifling heat and humidity, he shackled the Yankees through five innings, allowing a single. But he ran into trouble, if not out of steam, in the sixth, giving up back-to-back home runs to Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez, and ending up with no decision as the bullpen lost its 15th game.
Rupe has 13 starts with two brutal relief appearances and a 2 1/2-week tuneup at Triple-A in the middle.
He gave up eight runs in his first start at Boston, seven in four innings June 2 at Seattle and nine in less than five innings Monday in Boston.
In the other 10, he is 4-3 with a 3.49 ERA.
"Either they've been absolutely awful or they've been all right," Rupe said. "I haven't had too many in-between. The statistics look awful, but I think I've given the team a chance to win. I've had what, 13 starts? And in nine or 10 of those I've given the team a chance to win. I don't know what the percentage is, but I'll take that."
PITCHING IN: Russ Johnson doesn't play much anymore, making occasional starts at third base against left-handed pitchers. He took advantage of his opportunity Saturday, rapping three hits, but was more concerned about striking out with two on in the ninth.
"Bad day," Johnson said. "I'd swap all those hits for that last getting-the-job-done. But I didn't get it done."
JUNE SWOON: The Rays won nine times in June, their most victories in a month this season. But the 9-18 record is their worst for any of the four Junes in their history.
HAMSTRUNG: Outfielder Randy Winn's sore left hamstring, which has forced him to miss four games, is "getting better," manager Hal McRae said. Fred McGriff, who hasn't played in the field since June 21, is still having trouble with his sore left hamstring. "He is kind of tentative stretching it," McRae said.
PRESS CLIPPINGS: In a mid-season update, Baseball America named Durham catcher Toby Hall the top player at the Triple-A level. ... Joe Kennedy was named to the midseason Double-A all-star squad. ... Dewon Brazelton, the team's unsigned top draft pick, was named to BA's collegiate All-America team.
MINOR MATTERS: In a rehab start, Wilson Alvarez pitched six innings with five hits, no earned runs, three walks and two strikeouts as Durham lost 3-1 to Norfolk. Alvarez got a no decision. ... Christopher Flinn, third-round pick in the June draft, had an impressive outing Friday, striking out nine in five innings of relief for Hudson Valley. ... Jason Standridge lost for Durham on Friday, dropping to 3-8 with a 4.70 ERA. ... Orlando's Jim Magrane (5-7, 2.31) has allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of his 17 starts. ... Bakersfield's Nathan Kaup leads the Class A California League with a .364 average. ... Josh Hamilton remains sidelined with spring training-type soreness in his legs at Class A Charleston.
RAYS BITS: Brent Abernathy, with hits in all six games since being called up, batted leadoff for the first time. ... The Rays are 3-9 with two games left in their 14-game stretch against AL East powers Boston and New York.
WHERE: Yankee Stadium
TV/RADIO: Ch. 10; 970 WFLA-AM, 760 WLCC-AM (Spanish)
RAYS-YANKEES RESULTS:
6/22 -- 6-3 L at Trop
6/23 -- 2-1 L at Trop
6/24 -- 5-4 W at Trop
Friday -- 7-5 L at Yankee Stadium
Saturday -- 5-4 L at Yankee Stadium
Today -- at Yankee Stadium, 1:05
Monday -- at Yankee Stadium, 1:05
WEATHER FORECAST: Partly cloudy, high 85, low 65.
TANYON STURTZE: Sturtze hasn't won since June 9, but it's not for lack of trying -- he has worked at least six innings in six consecutive starts. Sturtze moved into the rotation May 2 and is 3-4 with a 5.02 ERA in 10 starts. He has not started against the Yankees.
ANDY PETTITTE: The 29-year-old left-hander comes off the disabled list to face the Rays, against whom he has a 4-1 record in eight games. Pettitte was pitching well before straining his groin June 15, posting a 7-4 record and 3.07 ERA.
This is the first trip to New York for a handful of Rays, and it has been especially eye-opening for reliever Travis Phelps, who hails from the tiny town of Rocky Comfort, Mo.
"It's pretty crazy," Phelps said. "There's a lot of people. And it seems like they're all in a hurry to get nowhere. They fly by you. It's weird."
And how does it compare to home?
"There's a couple thousand people there, at the most," Phelps said. "I see that on one street here."