Sports: Rays remain in their groove

Rays remain in their groove

All facets click again in a 5-2 victory - Tampa Bay's fifth in six games.

By MARC TOPKIN

All facets click again in a 5-2 victory -- Tampa Bay's fifth in six games.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Hal McRae felt his Rays would be ready to play coming off the unscheduled week-long hiatus. But even he didn't expect this.

Saturday's crisp 5-2 victory against the lifeless Blue Jays was the Rays' third in a row against Toronto, their fifth in six games and the seventh in the 11 games since play resumed.

"I think the players are having some fun," McRae said. "I don't think they feel like they're under the gun, I don't think they feel pressure. They know when they come to the ballpark we have a chance to win and they're going to compete like hell, and we've competed. We've played without fear, and I think that's the way we perform best."

For this season, the payoff is small. The Rays still are likely to lose 100 games -- they'd have to finish 6-2 not to -- but are a half-game back from surpassing Pittsburgh and shedding the label as the worst team in the majors.

The bigger benefit of the strong finish will apply to next season, when the Rays hope to make a leap to respectability.

"What I think we gain from it is we learn each other, we learn to play together, we learn what to expect," McRae said. "We have a pretty good idea what we need to do to win, and a pretty good idea how to go about it.

"I think that what we learn from winning are what the possibilities are if we play unafraid, if we play not worrying about mistakes, if we play hard, if we think we can win. There's no education in losing."

The Rays have been playing hard -- rallying for runs, making good plays and pitching exceptionally well -- and Saturday was a prime example, with an opportunistic offense, solid defense and excellent efforts from starter Nick Bierbrodt and relievers Victor Zambrano and Esteban Yan.

Their improvement has been obvious, especially to the Blue Jays, who have lost five of six to Tampa Bay in the past nine days.

"You've got to give (McRae) a hell of a lot of credit. He's got a combination of kids out there that are doing a good job," Toronto manager Buck Martinez said.

"These guys, they're not going out there to lose," Toronto's Shannon Stewart said. "When we played them in Toronto, they played us tough there. It wasn't a fluke when they beat Roger (Clemens). They're swinging the bats well and playing good baseball."

The Jays, just as obviously, are not. Their biggest problem has been a stunning lack of offense -- four hits and a .202 average in the three losses this weekend, including 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position.

"It's been a struggle for us offensively," Martinez said. "We haven't been able to get any big hits. We've had a few opportunities, but it's not like we're facing Mussina, Pettitte and Clemens. ...

"It's just one of those things that we're going through right now. Everybody says, "Well, you guys are laying down.' I don't think we're laying down."

The Rays' four-run outburst in the second was an example in capitalizing on mistakes. They got one run when Ben Grieve walked and Toby Hall and Randy Winn singled, and picked up another when rightfielder Raul Mondesi threw wildly home.

They got a third when second baseman Homer Bush muffed Aubrey Huff's ground ball and Chris Gomez doubled, and another when Roy Halladay's two wild pitches allowed Gomez to score.

The Rays made a handful of solid plays, including an excellent relay from Winn to Felix Martinez to catcher Hall for the final out.

But the biggest came accidentally in the fourth, the Jays within 4-1 with two men on and two out. Charging in for a slow ground ball, Martinez was run over by Felipe Lopez, who was called out for interference. "That might have been turning point of the game, the tackle at second base," McRae said.

The key ingredient for the Rays has been pitching, and Bierbrodt (who struck out seven in six innings for his second win) and the relievers did their part again. In their past six games, the Rays have allowed only seven earned runs for a stellar 1.19 ERA.

"We need them to throw the ball well for us to have success because we're not going to blow anybody out," Jason Tyner said. "We have to play good defense and pitch to win games, and it's exciting to see how well they've been doing."

Actually, there's been a lot to be excited about.