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Monday, Jun. 19 10:05pm ET
McGriff has four-RBI night in victory | |||||
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- With Jose Canseco, Vinny Castilla and Greg Vaughn on the disabled list, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are having a great June. The last-place Devil Rays are 11-6 this month, thanks mainly to their revived pitching. Fred McGriff drove in four runs and hit his 13th homer, and reliever-turned-starter Albie Lopez pitched six strong innings as the Devil Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 10-3 Monday night.
McGriff, who went 3-for-5, homered off Rob Ramsay in the eighth. "I like it," Tampa Bay manager Larry Rothschild said of his team's resurgence. "There are a lot of reasons, but our starting pitching is the biggest thing." "I'm not going to say it's me," said second baseman Smith, who was called up last Wednesday from Triple-A Durham when Castilla was put on the DL with lower-back inflammation. "Our pitchers have been doing great." Tampa Bay took a staff ERA of 5.77, second worst in the majors, into June. This month, the Devil Rays' ERA is 2.92. The Mariners lost the opener of a 10-game homestand after returning from a season-best 7-3 road trip. Guillen tied it at 2 in the fourth when he hit his third homer in seven games off John Halama (6-3). After singles by Felix Martinez and Randy Winn, Gerald Williams put Tampa Bay ahead to stay with a two-run double. Smith hit his first homer of the season for the Devil Rays in the seventh. Lopez (4-4) made his fifth start after 151 relief appearances and got his second straight victory. In six innings, Lopez allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and four walks. He struck out six. Mark McLemore had an RBI single in Seattle's second and Alex Rodriguez gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the third with his 20th homer. "You're never comfortable when you're facing a lineup with A-Rod and Edgar (Martinez)," Lopez said. "But I was putting my fastball in good spots. I enjoyed relieving, but I like starting, too." The Devil Rays got a run-scoring single from McGriff in the first and increased their lead to 6-2 with two runs in the fifth. Russ Johnson singled in a run and Felix Martinez had a sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Williams scored from second on McGriff's infield single. Although the Devil Rays are bringing up the rear in the AL East, they feel they can start making some noise. "Anything is possible," Smith said. "But you've got to go out and play good baseball every day." Pinch-hitter Stan Javier was walked by Mark Guthrie with the bases loaded in the seventh. Halama, losing his third consecutive decision, went four innings and gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks. "Actually, my last two starts I have had a dead arm," Halama said. "My arm was very fatigued my last two starts. They waited for me to get the ball up and get strikes. Then they got me." Said manager Lou Piniella: "Our pitching wasn't very good. Halama has struggled the last few times. I don't know the particular reasons, but we certainly need for him to pitch better than he has."
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse Seattle Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 22 Boston 1
Tampa Bay 10
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