Tampa Bay Rays shutout Baltimore Orioles 2-0 at Tropicana Field – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays shutout Baltimore Orioles 2-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, August 3 in the opening game of their three match series.
Rays’ Manager Joe Maddon will be very pleased with what he has seen from his team after the All Star Break. With their win over their arch rivals, the Rays improved their record to 56-50 to take the second place on the American League East Division standings
table.
Credit should be given to Maddon for the way he has handled some of the key players. It will be interesting to see if the Rays can continue to their excellent form over the next few days to close the gap between themselves and the leaders New York Yankees.
Orioles, on the other hand, will be hoping to learn from their mistakes to turn the tables on the Rays in Game 2. Baltimore’s hitting line-up failed to live up the expectations on Friday and the Rays held on to a two run lead to secure a deserving win.
B.J. Upton had an excellent time with the bat as he homered to centre in the fourth inning to break the deadlock and become one of the few players to have 100 homers and 200 steals before the age of 28. Desmond Jennings also made his presence felt with a
home-run to left in the sixth inning.
"Anytime you can be in the same sentence with any of those guys, it's always an honor," Upton said. "I'm glad I'm in a position to be able to do that. Rickey Henderson is definitely one of the guys I looked up when I was growing up."
"Congratulations to the Family Upton," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said of Upton brothers. "That's an incredible feat. Mom and Dad have to be really proud tonight. The brothers have to feel great about it, but just think about being the parents at that
moment. That's pretty neat."
Rays’ starting pitcher Matt Moore pitched with great control and accuracy for his eighth win of the season. He gave up just six hits in five scoreless innings while striking-out six. Relief pitcher Fernando Rodney pitched the perfect ninth for his 32nd save
of the year.
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