TRANSACTION: Placed OF Dan Gregory on the Playoff IL, activated OF Doug Johns.
Johns goes right into the lineup tonight with a lefty on the mound for Cincinnati.
It didn't start out great for the Rays as Jose Mendoza was knocked around for 5 runs in the first 4 innings and they trailed 5-1, but their relentless offense put 5 on the board in the 5th and they never looked back in a 9-7 win. Special mention to Ken Burgess, who came through hugely clutch again in relief. Chris Williams had put two on with one out in the 8th, and the righty Burgess came in with a righty and two tough lefties due. He gave up a single to the righty to load the bases but then whiffed .300 hitter Manny Quintana and Reds slugging superstar Nelson Gamez to preserve an 8-7 lead. Josh Alexander then drilled his 2nd double and 3rd RBI of the game in the 9th to give them insurance and Kikuo Kawase pitched around a 2-out double for the save. Rays pitching, although far from perfect tonight, had 17 whiffs to erase a lot of mistakes. Brad Jackson will look to close it out tomorrow in Game 5.