TAMPA BAY - GAME RECAPS

August 9th- New York Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3 - Attendance 21,223

Roger Clemens started for the Yankees against Jason Standridge, getting his first major league start. Probable Cy Young winner for the World Champions against an unknown pitching for the perennial doormats of the A.L. East. A mismatch, right? Thankfully, this was not the case.

Standridge started well, striking out Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada to start the game before yielding a single to David Justice, who was stranded. Clemens matched him, getting two outs before Greg Vaughn singled, but he was caught stealing and the 1st inning ended scoreless. 

In the second, Standridge again shut down the Yanks, and in the bottom half, Clemens notched his first two strikeouts of the game. But on the second K, Posada let the ball get behind him and then threw wild to first, allowing the batter, Toby Hall, to reach second. After a walk and an out, Jared Sandberg, nephew of Ryne and playing in only his 3rd major-league game, singled to right, scoring Hall and giving the D-Ray's a 1-0 lead. 

Standridge continues to throw well, and Tampa Bay spots him another run on an Aubrey Huff double in the 4th. The game moves quickly through the middle innings as both pitchers match each other out for out. 

Finally, in the 7th, Standridge runs into trouble. With one down, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez single and Standridge is removed. Reliever Travis Phelps manages to quell the threat and Standridge finishes with 6.1 innings and 0 earned runs.

Paul O'Neill swings

In the 8th, closer Esteban Yan is brought in and gives up a solo homer to Alfonso Soriano, cutting the lead in half. But the Rays reply in their half as Greg Vaughn doubled in a run to restore the 2-run lead. Clemens was finally done for the day, and it looked like he was about to lose his second of the season. Yan remained in the game and with one out, gave up a single to Martinez. Paul O'Neill grounded to Huff at first, but his throw to second hit Martinez in the back and suddenly there were runners on second and third with only one out. Shane Spencer was plunked to load the bases, and then Soriano grounded out to score a run. It was 3-2 Tampa Bay with two out in the ninth, and pinch-hitter Luis Sojo came to the plate. On a 0-1 pitch, he crushed Yan's offering to deep center, where it fell safely for a double and the Yankees had a 4-3 lead. Of course, Mariano Rivera came in to close out the Rays in the ninth and the Yanks won. Clemens avoided the loss, and Standridge did not get the win he should have had - a sad ending to a great game, which gets a nine out of 10 on the rating scale.

Sojo knocks the game-winning double as Yan dances

August 10th- Tampa Bay 4, Minnesota 2 - Attendance 20,112

Paul Wilson started for the Rays and continued the mastery that Standridge had shown the day before, retiring the Twins in order for the first three innings. His teammates managed two runs in the bottom of the 3rd on three singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly, and Wilson continued to cruise before being take out after going 6 scoreless innings. In the 4th, Jared Sandberg doubled and scored on a Chris Gomez single, and Gomez completed his 3/3 evening with a solo homer in the 6th to give the Devil Rays a 4-0 lead.

Torii Hunter beats out an infield single

The Ray pen was weak again, as Minnesota managed 2 runs with 2 out in the ninth, but rookie Bobby Kielty, the tying run, grounded out to end the game. This game was not very interesting, but it was good to see the Rays win one, and Wilson's performance was very good, so it gets a 6/10.