Rays enjoy some revenge against Royals

Kansas City commits four errors to help Ryan Rupe win his third straight decision.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 28, 2000

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Devil Rays were due for something good to happen here.

During a brutal April visit, they lost back-to-back games to the Royals on the final pitch. One defeat came courtesy of an Albie Lopez throwing error, the other set up by a questionable call at first base.

Thursday, they took the first step toward evening things out in the

[AP photo] Tampa Bay Devil Ray Fred McGriff gets the force out at second Thursday night against the Royals' Todd Dunwoody. The Rays went on to win 8-5.

opener of a four-game series, taking advantage of four Kansas City errors to score an 8-5 victory before an announced Kauffman Stadium crowd of 20,898.

"We did enough to win the game," manager Larry Rothschild said. "We got some breaks and we capitalized on them. That was basically it. A win is a win."

For the Rays, it was their 41st win in the 100th game.

"Obviously that's not where we want to be," said Rothschild, who watched the game on television to serve the final day of his suspension. "The next 62 games to me are what we've got to concentrate on."

Actually, the past 50 weren't that bad -- the Rays were 25-25. In the first 50, they were 16-34.

Three Kansas City mistakes led to four unearned runs as the Rays took a 5-1 lead in the second and ran with it, though they did have a few nervous moments as the Royals showed signs of yet another late rally.

Ryan Rupe wasn't all that sharp, but he was better than he was in April and good enough to get the win, his third straight. Gerald Williams led the opportunistic offense, mixing two doubles with a single and driving in three runs, raising his season total to 66.

The best thing Rupe, or anyone else, could say about his performance was that he won. "He battled with what he had," catcher John Flaherty said.

When Rupe got knocked around here April 26, it was the beginning of the end, as he was sent to Durham after his next start. The Rays hope this performance could be the start of something.

"He went in and out of a rhythm but it's good that he got a win out of it," Rothschild said. "It can get him going and keep him going. That's how you end up getting on a roll is by winning a few games like this and all of a sudden you have the good games you win and things start happening."

Rupe's biggest outs may have been his last two. He took a three-run lead into the fifth, but allowed soft singles to Carlos Febles and Rey Sanchez, bringing No. 3 hitter Mike Sweeney to the plate as the tying run with one out. He got Sweeney to pop up a fastball to shortstop, then caught Scott Pose looking at strike three to end the threat.

"That could have been a real ugly inning," Rupe said. "I made some bad pitches, and I made some good pitches that they got hits on."

Rupe handed the game off to the bullpen, but things got dicey in the ninth when Mark Guthrie gave up two runs on three singles as the Royals pulled to within three. Roberto Hernandez quickly snuffed any hopes of another Royals comeback, getting Joe Randa to hit a ground ball for the final out and his 18th save.

Williams' three RBI pushed his season total to 66, two shy of his career-best. "It's a bittersweet thing," Williams said. "A lot of people talk about numbers but I'm more interested in winning. To me, the only way to have fun is to win."

The Royals were gracious hosts from the start. Third baseman Randa set up the first Tampa Bay run by throwing wildly on a potential double play ball in the first inning. His error allowed Miguel Cairo to advance to third, and Fred McGriff brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

Things got messier in the second when second baseman Febles booted a leadoff grounder by Vinny Castilla. Flaherty singled and Felix Martinez, who tried to give the Royals an out by bunting, walked to load the bases. Williams then ripped a two-run double just inside the leftfield line.

Cairo followed with a fly to right and Martinez, respectful of rightfielder Jermaine Dye's arm, bluffed a dash home. Dye's throw was on target but too strong, and both runners ended up scoring when it bounced into the stands. Dye suffered a mild concussion when he ran into the outfield wall in the third and is likely to miss tonight's game.

The Rays have won three of their past five and are 4-5 on the 12-game, four-city road trip.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

Headlines

Americans Lose in 1st Round of Davis Cup

---