Tampa Bay Rays outclass Miami Marlins 5-1 in series opener – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays outclassed Miami Marlins 5-1 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida on Friday, June 8 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
With their win against the Marlins on Friday evening, the Rays have gone back to the first place on the American League East Division standings table.
Tampa Bay starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson looked a bit out of sorts at the start of the contest. He allowed season high seven walks on 108 throws in just over four innings. However, he gave up just one run, which helped the Rays stay on top.
"We just have to keep battling," Jose Reyes said. "We're going through a rough stretch, but we are better than what we're showing right now."
"The only thing I don't see is running across the plate," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Whatever they're doing, do the opposite. We have to do better."
"That's why I'm here -- to get the ball on the ground," Bruke Badenhop said. "It worked out pretty nice. Nice to stay ahead of them there."
"The bullpen was fantastic," Manager Joe Maddon said in a post game interview. "The star of the game: Badenhop."
The Rays will be a bit unhappy with the fact they made a large number of unforced errors on the field. Miami, on the other hand, were unable take advantage of those unforced errors and ultimately paid the price.
B.J. Upton had an excellent time on the plate as he singled to left in the third inning to put the Rays 1-0 ahead. Will Rhymes reached on infield single to second in the fourth and Matt Joyce homered to right in the fifth inning to extend Rays’ lead to 3-1.
Ben Zobrist also made a useful contribution as he singled to right centre in the seventh inning and Desmond Jennings scored. Carlos Pena ended the game on a strong note for Tampa Bay with a single to right centre. Gregg Dobbs hit a sacrifice fly to centre
in the third to score the only run for the Marlins.
Tags: