The Rays only managed 8 runs over the entirety of their series with Texas but still managed to take 2 out of 3 and retained their 1/2 game lead over the Blue Jays.
The lack of runs was a culprit in their series-opening 5-2 loss to the Rangers.
Joe Scheu pitched decently at 7 7 3 3 1 0 but still fell to 7-3 when all his mates could do was manage a pair of runs in the 8th after it was already 5-0.
Outstanding pitching from
Kevin DiCostanzo and a pair of solo homers from
Joe Stack led the Rays to a 4-0 win in the second game. DiCostanzo improved to 8-1, 2.20 (and 6-0, 1.38 in May) with a 6 4 0 0 2 6 and Stack hit homers #12 & 13 in the 2nd and 7th to give Tampa Bay its first two runs before they tacked on two more in the 7th thanks to
Bobby Marin's double.
The Rays' other ace
Joe Marlette picked up where DiCostanzo left off the night before, pitching the Rays to a 2-0 victory and a series win over Texas. Marlette went to 7-2 but had to leave after going 5 5 0 0 0 8 after racking up a pitch count of 99 although he struck out the last two men he faced in the 5th with two Rangers on. Three relievers finished the shutout with
Mike Moore turning in a 1-2-3 9th for his 10th save. The bats were pretty quiet but an RBI triple from
Luis Berumen in the 1st and an RBI single from
William Contreras in the 5th were all that was needed.
Team record: 37-16. Next up: An off-day then 3 games in Baltimore.
As one might expect DiCostanzo was recognized by the league:
