Power Pros Forum

5/17 - Rays (29-14) @ Cardinals (26-18): Game 2
ST. LOUIS -- The Rays have now won three in a row, taking game two against the Cardinals in St. Louis. In the first inning, Carlos Pena singled, and got to second on passed ball, followed by Evan Longoria who doubled to bring in Pena. In the bottom of the second inning, Troy Glaus homered deep into the left field bleachers to tie the game. The Rays took the lead again in the fourth inning. Dioner Navarro got a double, folliowed by a Rocco Baldelli single to score Navarro. The Rays extended their lead in the fifth inning with a home run off the bat of Akinori Iwamura. The Rays scored another in the sixth after an Evan Longoria double, Dioner Navarro doubled to score Longoria. In the seventh inning, B.J. Upton homered to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, but that lead was blown in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Duncan led off the inning with a homer to narrow the lead to three. Later in the inning, Brendan Ryan, pinch hitting in the pitchers spot crushed a two-run triple scoring Caesar Izturis and Yadier Molina. Aaron Miles pinch hitting for Adam Kennedy followed with a single, scoring Ryan. Going to extras, in the top of the tenth, after a single by B.J. Upton and moving over to second on a sacrifice groundout by Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria smashed a two-run home run into the left field bleachers. Troy Percival closed it out in the bottom of the tenth for his eleventh save of the season. Scott Kazmir started out well, but but was taken out of the game after giving up the tying run in the seventh and recieved a no decsision. Kazmir pitched six and two-thirds innings giving up all five Cardinals runs on seven hits and striking out four.

Final Score:
Rays: 7
Cardinals: 5
F/10

WP - Dan Wheeler (5-0) | LP - Russ Springer (0-1) | SV - Troy Percival (11)

HR:
Chris Duncan - Cardinals (7)
Troy Glaus - Cardinals (13)
Akinori Iwamura - Rays (3)
B.J. Upton - Rays (14)
Evan Longoria - Rays (11)

5/18 - Rays (30-14) @ Cardinals (26-19): Game 3
ST. LOUIS -- The Rays have now won their fourth in a row, sweeping the Cardinals in St. Louis. Finally getting things started in the fifth, the Rays scored two runs on back-to-back home runs hit by Carl Crawford, who led off the inning with a homer, followed by Dioner Navarro to take a 2-0 lead. The only Cardinals run was scored in the bottom of the seventh with a solo blast off the bat of Troy Glaus. Rays starting pitcher Chuck James was dominant. He pitched seven innings giving up the only Cardinals run on five hits and striking out eight. Troy Percival protected the one run lead in the ninth for his twelfth save of the season.

Final Score:
Rays: 2
Cardinals: 1

WP - Chuck James (1-1) | LP - Kyle Lohse (5-3) | SV - Troy Percival (12)

HR:
Troy Glaus - Cardinals (14)
Carl Crawford - Rays (2)
Dioner Navarro - Rays (2)

5/19 - Rays (31-14) @ Athletics (30-14): Game 1
OAKLAND -- The Rays lost today, ending a four game winning streak. In the bottom of the first inning, Oakland got it started. Eric Chavez singled to bring home Mark Ellis who doubled and got to third on a sacrifice hit by Chris Denorfia, but the Rays tied it up when Evan Longoria led off the top of the second with a home run. In the third inning, the Rays took a 2-1 lead when Evan Longoria tripled scoring Akinori Iwamura who was on first. With no other scoring in the game, the Rays brought in Percival to close it out in the ninth, but couldn't hold the one run lead. Eric Chavez singled, followed by a monster walk-off two-run home run off the bat of Frank Thomas. Rays starting pitcher James Shields pitched very well, giving up the only Athletics run on five hits and striking out nine. Troy Percival blew the save and takes the loss in this one.

Final Score:
Rays: 2
Athletics: 3

WP - Alan Embree (1-0) | LP - Troy Percival (2-1) | SV -

HR:
Frank Thomas - Athletics (12)
Evan Longoria - Rays (12)

5/20 - Rays (31-15) @ Athletics (31-14): Game 2
OAKLAND -- The Rays have won again, taking game two of this three game series in Oakland. Oakland scored first in the third inning on a double by Mark Ellis scoring Kurt Suzuki from second. In the sixth inning, the Rays tied it up on a Cliff Floyd single scoring Carlos Pena who was on third. In the seventh inning, The Rays scored three more runs. Carlos Pena tripled scoring Jason Bartlett and B.J. Upton, followed later by a triple off the bat of Carl Crawford, scoring Pena from third. The A's scored once more in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run off the bat of Bobby Crosby to narrow the Rays lead to two, but they couldn't make a comback. Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine pitched seven strong innings giving up just one run on seven hits and striking out eight. Troy Percival closed it out for his thirteenth save of the season.

Final Score:
Rays: 4
Athletics: 2

WP - Andy Sonnanstine (3-1) | LP - Alan Embree (1-1) | SV - Troy Percival (13)

HR:
Bobby Crosby - Athletics (5)

5/21 - Rays (32-15) @ Athletics (31-15): Game 3
The Rays have won their second straight, winning this three game series two games to one. The A's scored first in the second inning on a Travis Buck single scoring Bobby Crosby from second. The Rays tied it up in the fourth with a home run by B.J. Upton to lead off the inning. The Rays scored three more in the sixth with a Cliff Floyd two-run triple scoring B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, followed later by a single off the bat of Rocco Baldelli to score Cliff Floyd. The A's scored once more in the seventh on a Mark Ellis double scoring Kurt Suzuki from first. Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza pitched six and two-thirds innings giving up both A's runs on eight hits and striking out four. Troy Percival earned his fourteenth save of the season.

Final Score:
Rays: 4
Athletics: 2

WP - Matt Garza (4-3) | LP - Rich Harden (4-4) | SV - Troy Percival (14)

HR:
B.J. Upton - Rays (15)

Nomo Returns; Rays Send Down Glover
Hideo Nomo's stay on the fifteen day disabled list has ended. Nomo has fully recovered from his injury, and will be back with the team in time for their game on Friday (5/23) as the Rays have the day off today. The Rays are sending down Gary Glover to make room for Nomo on the roster.

5/23 - Orioles (16-32) @ Rays (33-15): Game 1
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have now won three in a row, taking game one of a three game series against the Orioles in Tampa Bay. The Rays scored first in the first inning on a double by Carlos Pena scoring B.J. Upton from first, followed later by a single by Carl Crawford scoring Carlos Pena. The Orioles didn't get on the board until the seventh inning with a Luke Scott home run. The Rays had a huge six run seventh including a bases loaded single by B.J. Upton scoring Rocco Baldelli and Jason Bartlett, directly followed by a three-run home run off the bat of Carlos Pena scoring Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton, directly followed by a solo shot off the bat of Evan Longoria, going back-to-back. In the eighth inning, the Orioles scored two more runs on a bases loaded single by Nick Markakis scoring Luis Hernandez and Brian Roberts. Hideo Nomo got his first start since coming off the DL and he was phenomenal. He pitched seven strong innings giving up one run on three hits and striking out five.

Final Score:
Orioles: 3
Rays: 8

WP - Hideo Nomo (3-0) | LP - Jeremy Guthrie (0-4) | SV -

HR:
Carlos Pena - Rays (25)
Evan Longoria - Rays (13)
Luke Scott - Orioles (9)

This is now completely caught up with the blog, so now I will be posting them one at a time right after I post them on the blog.

What do the standings look like now?

I'll post em at the end of the month.

Gah! the suspense will kill me.

I just finished another game. I'll post it on here soon as soon as I write it and post it on the blog.

5/24 - Orioles (16-33) @ Rays (34-15): Game 2
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have won four in a a row now, taking the first two games against the Orioles in this series in Tampa. In the top of the first inning, Nick Markakis singled, scoring Brian Roberts from second. In the bottom of the first, Carl Crawford hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded scoring Akinori Iwamura to tie it up. In the third inning, Carlos Pena jacked a monster home run to right to take the lead. The Rays extended their lead in the fourth inning when B.J. Upton hit a two run single with the bases loaded scoring Dioner Navarro and Rocco Baldelli. In the fifth inning, the Orioles made a comeback with a two-run homer off the bat of Great Johnson Jay Payton, followed by a solo shot by Ramon Hernandez going back-to-back. In the fifth inning, with Dioner Navarro at the plate and Carl Crawford on third, Crawford scored on passed ball to take the lead again, but the Orioles tied it again in the top of the sixth with an Aubrey Huff solo home run. The Rays took the lead again in the seventh on a single by Dioner Navarro scoring Evan Longoria. The Rays extended their lead in the eighth with Carlos Pena's second homer of the game, a two-run shot scoring B.J. Upton. Rays starting pitcher Scott Kazmir started well, but gave up more runs than he probably should have. He gave up all five Orioles runs on eight hits and striking out three. He still got the win in this one and Troy Percival earned his fifteenth save of the season.

Final Score:
Orioles: 5
Rays: 8

WP - Scott Kazmir (5-1) | LP - Brian Burres (2-2) | SV - Troy Percival (15)

HR:
Carlos Pena - Rays (26)
Carlos Pena - Rays (27)
Aubrey Huff - Orioles (8)
Great Johnson - Orioles (12)
Ramon Hernandez - Orioles (1)

5/25 - Orioles (16-34) @ Rays (35-15): Game 3
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays continue their hot streak with their fifth victory in a row, sweeping the Orioles in an extra innings game. The Rays scored first in the first on a solo blast by B.J. Upton. Later in the inning, with Carlos Pena on third, Carl Crawford hits a ground ball, and instead of getting the out at first, the third baseman makes an attempt to get Carlos Pena who's charging home, scores and everyone's safe. The Orioles tied it up in the second, though. Great Johnson singled scoring Aubrey Huff, and later in the inning, Jay Payton scored from second on error by second baseman Akinori Iwamura. The Orioles then took the lead in the fourth on a single by Ramon Hernandez scoring Jay Payton from second, but the Rays tied it up in the bottom of the innig on a single by Akinori Iwamura scoring Dioner Navarro from second. Going into extra innings, in the bottom of the tenth, Evan Longoria ended it on a two-out walk-off home run to left field. Rays starting pitcher James Shields pitched seven innings giving up three runs, only two of those runs being earned, on ten hits and striking out two.

Final Score:
Orioles: 3
Rays: 4
F/10

WP - Dan Wheeler (6-0) | LP - Daniel Cabrera (0-7) | SV -

HR:
B.J. Upton - Rays (16)
Evan Longoria - Rays (14)

5/26 - Rangers (14-38) @ Rays (36-15): Game 1
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have opened up a series against the Texas Rangers at home with a win. In the bottom of the first, Evan Longoria jacked an opposite field two-run homer scoring Carlos Pena, taking a 2-0 lead. The Rays then added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, after a single then stolen base by Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd singled, scoring Carl Crawford from second. The Rangers scored their first run in the top of the sixth inning on a sacrifice groundout to third by Milton Bradley with the bases loaded scoring Ben Broussard from third. The Rangers then tied it in the top of the eighth inning when Josh Hamilton blasted a two-run home run scoring Michael Young. The Rays took the lead again in the bottom of the eighth inning, when B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena jacked back-to-back solo shots. Troy Percival closed it out in the ninth for his sixteenth save of the season. Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine pitched seven and a third innings, giving up all three Rangers runs on nine hits, and no strikeouts for a no descision having been taken out after the Josh Hamilton two-run homer.

Final Score:
Rangers: 3
Rays: 5

WP - Dan Wheeler (7-0) | LP - Vicente Padilla (1-4) | SV - Troy Percival (16)

HR:
B.J. Upton - Rays (17)
Carlos Pena - Rays (28)
Evan Longoria - Rays (15)
Josh Hamilton - Rangers (10)

I've now boosted CPU batting, pitching, fielding, and base running to powerful, and I STILL win! What should I do now to get some losses?

Fast pitch speed?

Well, wouldn't that help my pitching as well?

I don't think it does. Try it and see what happens.

5/27 - Rangers (14-39) @ Rays (37-15): Game 2
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have dropped game two of this series against the Rangers in a long extra innings game. The Rangers scored first in the first on a Michael Young RBI double scoring Ian Kinsler from second, but the Rays came back in the bottom of the inning with a Carlos Pena RBI triple scoring Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton, followed by an RBI double by Carl Crawford scoring Carlos Pena. The Rangers tied it up in the fifth when Ian Kinsler hit an RBI triple scoring Gerald Laird and Ben Broussard, and taking the lead on a Michael Young RBI single scoring Ian Kinsler, but the Rays tied it up in the bottom of the ininng on a solo bomb by Carlos Pena, and took the lead in the sixth on a Carl Crawford solo homer. With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, and Troy Percival trying to close it out, Gerald Laird hit an RBI single scoring Ramon Vazquez. The game went into extras, and in the fourteenth inning, Ian Kinsler jacked a two-run homer scoring Ben Broussard, completing his cycle for the day, going 5-7 and knocking in four. Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza pitched eight innings giving up four runs on ten hits and only one strikeout, taking a no decision. J.P. Howell pitched a majority of the extra innings, pitching from the start of the tenth to the fourteenth giving up no runs until the Ian Kinsler homer, and takes the loss in this one.

Final Score:
Rangers: 7
Rays: 5

WP - Franklyn German (1-0) | LP - J.P. Howell (1-4) | SV - Joaquin Benoit (6)

HR:
Carlos Pena - Rays (29)
Carl Crawford - Rays (3)
Ian Kinsler - Rangers (9)

5/28 - Rangers (15-39) @ Rays (37-16): Game 3
ST PETERSBURG -- The Rays have now dropped two in a row to the Rangers at home. The Rangers scored first in this one in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young scoring Ian Kinsler, but the Rays stormed back in the bottom of the first with three runs including a two-run blast hit by B.J. Upton scoring Akinori Iwamura, later followed by Carl Crawford who hit a sacrifice fly scoring Carlos Pena from third. The Rangers scored five runs in the top of the sixth on two home runs. Josh Hamilton led off the inning with a solo home run, and Marlon Byrd blasted a grand slam scoring Frank Catalanotto, Hank Blalock, and Milton Bradley to take a three run lead. Evan Longoria narrowed that lead to two in the bottom of the inning with a lead off solo homer. In the seventh, B.J. Upton narrowed the lead to one with an RBI double scoring Jason Bartlett from first, but the Rangers extended their lead in the eighth when Gerald Laird blooped an RBI single to right, scoring Frank Catalanotto and Ramon Vazquez. In the bottom of the eighth, Rocco Baldelli hit an RBI single scoring Evan Longoria from third, and in the ninth, Carlos Pena hit a sacrifice groundout scoring Akinori Iwamura from third, but it wasn't enough as the Rangers edged the Rays 8-7. Rays starting pitcher Edwin Jackson started strong, but was immediately yanked out after the Marlon Byrd grand slam, pitching five innings, giving up six runs on ten hits and striking out two for the loss in this one.

Final Score:
Rangers: 8
Rays: 7

WP - Kason Gabbard (2-4) | LP - Edwin Jackson (4-1) | SV - Joaquin Benoit (7)

HR:
B.J. Upton - Rays (18)
Evan Longoria - Rays (16)
Josh Hamilton - Rangers (11)
Marlon Byrd - Rangers (7)


5/29 - White Sox (26-28) @ Rays (37-17): Game 1
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have now lost three games in a row, dropping the first game in a series against the White Sox at home. The Sox scored first in the first with a two out solo shot by Jim Thome to take a one run lead, but the Rays got that run back in the bottom of the inning on a Carlos Pena RBI single scoring Akinori Iwamura from second. The Sox took a one-run lead again in the top of the second, again with a two out solo shot, this time by Carlos Quentin, but the Rays again got that run back in the bottom of the third when Evan Longoria hit an RBI single scoring B.J. Upton. The Rays took the lead for the first time in the game in the fifth when Evan Longoria hit another RBI single, this time scoring Akinori Iwamura, but the Sox stormed back in the sixth when Jim Thome homered for the second time in the game, a two-run homer scoring Orlando Cabrera, immediately followed by a solo shot by Paul Konerko going back-to-back, and taking a two-run lead the Rays couldn't overcome. Rays starting pitcher Hideo Nomo pitched five and a third innings giving up all five White Sox runs on ten hits and striking out four, taking a loss.

Final Score:
White Sox: 5
Rays: 3

WP - Javier Vazquez (3-7) | LP - Hideo Nomo (3-1) | SV - Bobby Jenks (8)

HR:
Jim Thome - White Sox (14)
Jim Thome - White Sox (15)
Paul Konerko - White Sox (11)
Carlos Quentin - White Sox (6)

5/30 - White Sox (27-28) @ Rays (37-18): Game 2
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have ended their three game losing streak today with a thrilling walk-off victory over the White Sox. Paul Konerko led-off the top of the second inning with a solo home run to give the Sox a 1-0 lead, but he wasn't done yet when he hit another solo homer in the fourth to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. The Rays got their scoring started in the sixth with an Akinori Iwamura RBI double scoring Jason Bartlett from first, narrowing the lead to one run. Later in the inning, Carlos Pena hit into a sacrifice groundout scoring Akinori Iwamura from third to tie the game, but the White Sox took the lead again the seventh with two home runs: a two-run shot by Carlos Quentin scoring Ruben Gotay, followed later in the inning by a solo shot by Nick Swisher to take a 5-2 lead. The Rays stormed back in the bottom of the ninth starting off with a solo homer off the bat of B.J. Upton, making it a 5-3 game, and after a base hit by Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria bombed a game-tying two-run homer. Directly following that homer, Carl Crawford doubled, and was knocked in by Cliff Floyd with a single for the walk-off vicory, scoring four times without getting a single out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Scott Kazmir, the Rays starting pitcher pitched well, until the three-run seventh put up by the White Sox, and was taken out after the Nick Swisher home run, pitching six and two thirds innings giving up five runs on eight hits and striking out six.

Final Score:
White Sox: 5
Rays: 6

WP - Troy Percival (3-1) | LP - Jose Contreras (1-4) | SV -

HR:
B.J. Upton - Rays (19)
Evan Longoria - Rays (17)
Nick Swisher - White Sox (10)
Paul Konerko - White Sox (12)
Paul Konerko - White Sox (13)
Carlos Quentin - White Sox (7)

not bad so far. You're giving up an awful lot of home runs lately...