Sports: Wilson emerges from pen to dazzle for Rays

Wilson emerges from pen to dazzle for Rays

By MARC TOPKIN

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With all the players coming and going Wednesday, Paul Wilson made an impressive return of his own.

Making his first start since being moved to the bullpen May 31, Wilson went five shutout innings to send the Rays to a 3-1 victory over Anaheim.

"It's a step in the right direction, and with the situation I'm in, any step is a good step," Wilson said.

While Wilson and relievers Victor Zambrano (three innings) and Esteban Yan provided strong pitching, Aubrey Huff homered to open the second and Ben Grieve added a two-run single to account for the offense in what was a relatively easy victory.

The most tense moment might have occurred in the top of the sixth inning when several banks of lights at Edison Field went out and the umpires pondered what to do.

"We had a 3-0 lead and we were discussing whether to continue to play or not," Rays manager Hal McRae said. "I thought the lights went out in April, so naturally I wanted to play."

Wilson was dumped from the rotation after a 2-7 record and 8.43 ERA in 12 starts. But with Bryan Rekar on the disabled list, Wilson got another chance and made the most of it.

"He's continued to throw the ball well," McRae said.

Wilson was pleased with his performance -- three hits, no walks, five strikeouts -- but not satisfied. "It's just one start," he said. "It's hard to make a lot of assessments and judgments on one start. But I like what I did tonight."

The Rays got some help in their rally. After Huff homered, Chris Gomez singled and Brent Abernathy reached when second baseman Adam Kennedy misplayed his bunt. Mike DiFelice, in his last at-bat before being traded to Arizona, dropped a perfect sacrifice. After Jason Tyner popped out, Grieve, batting .323 over his past nine starts, delivered a two-run single to left-center.