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Thursday, Jul. 13 7:15pm ET
Rays open second half with a win | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are playing for more than pride. "I would like this team to play better than .500 ball for a period of time to the end of the season," Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said after Thursday night's 6-4 victory over the Montreal Expos. "I think it's important for this franchise right now to establish we can do at least that, and better than that." Gerald Williams hit a two-run homer during a three-run fifth innings helping the Devil Rays, who are an American League-worst 35-51, win for just the fourth time in 12 games. "It's great to get a win under our belt in the first game (after the All-Star break) and now we just follow up with it," Rothschild said. Vinny Castilla had an RBI single in a two-run seventh as the Devil Rays snapped a 4-4 tie. "It's always good to get a win ... no matter when," said Tampa Bay's Steve Cox, who had a career-high four hits in five at-bats. "You win, you're going to have a good reputation. If you win, people are going to respect you. If you don't, they're going to want to play you." Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run homer and Chris Widger added a solo shot for the Expos. Montreal (42-43) is 11-20 since matching a season-high by going eight games over .500 on June 5. Jim Mecir (7-1) worked a scoreless 1 2-3 innings and Roberto Hernandez got three outs for his 13th save in 18 opportunities. Montreal reliever Felipe Lira (2-1) gave up two runs and two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Guerrero's 24th homer of the season put the Expos up 2-0 in the first inning. In four games at Tropicana Field, Guerrero has three homers and eight RBI. Tampa Bay got a run back in the bottom of the first on Bubba Trammell's RBI double. The potential tying run, Mike DiFelice, was thrown out at the plate by Montreal center fielder Peter Bergeron on Williams' second-inning single. The Expos took a 3-1 lead on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly by Jose Vidro. Williams' 10th homer tied the game at 3. The blast went an estimated 405 feet and struck a speaker hanging from an overhead catwalk 110 feet above the playing surface. Tampa Bay took its first lead, 4-3, later in the fifth when Cox doubled and scored on Fred McGriff's single. Widger's 11th homer drew the Expos even in the seventh. But Trammell's fielder's choice and Castilla's RBI single in the bottom of the inning gave Tampa Bay a two-run lead. "The name of the game is that when we scored to make it 3-1, they scored three," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "And then we came back and tied right away, and they scored twice. That's the game right there." Tampa Bay's Bryan Rekar gave up four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. The Devil Rays have eventually won the game in seven of Rekar's last eight starts. "That was the most unsettling thing, letting them back into the game," Rekar said. "The victory, that was the good part." Expos starter Javier Vazquez allowed four runs and 10 hits over 4 2/3 innings. Vazquez struck out seven and has fanned 43 in his last 39 innings. "I felt kind of weird, but not tired or anything like that," Vazquez said. "I felt something was wrong, but I don't know what it was. My arm feels good. I was out of whack a little with my mechanics." Montreal first baseman Lee Stevens, who missed one game after being hit in the right wrist Saturday by David Wells' pitch, was in the starting lineup and went 0-for-3 with a walk. Game notesMontreal RHP Hideki Irabu (right knee) allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings in his second rehab start for Class-A Jupiter of the Florida State League. ... Expos OF Rondell White (right hamstring strain) was out of the lineup for the third straight game. ... Eight of the 22 fair balls hitting a catwalk at Tropicana Field have occurred this season. ... Castilla has gone 86 at-bats without a homer, and has gone deep just once in his last 161 at-bats. ... DiFelice singled in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games, equaling his career high. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Montreal Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse RECAPS San Diego 2 Seattle 1
Tampa Bay 6
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