Cardiac Dan Wheeler Survives
The end of last night's Rays game was almost as difficult to sit through as the Belmont Stakes, but they pulled out a 5–4 victory over the Rangers to guarantee a series win. Dan Wheeler, or “Cardiac Dan” as he has become known in Tampa Bay, almost let it get away in the ninth inning before he deflected a line drive by Milton Bradley, keeping it on the infield and allowing the final out to be made. Today, they go for the sweep as Matt Garza takes the mound.
Last night's game definitely had its dramatics and saviors. Bradley cut a 4–2 Rays lead in half with an eighth inning home run off Trever Miller. The Rays, however, picked up an insurance run thanks to the heroics of Jason Bartlett. After a single, he stole second and third bases while the next hitter walked, then scored on a wild pitch by Jamey Walker. This kind of speed and baserunning can win more games than you might think. Wheeler, who ended the eighth inning with an out, was now on to close it out. After two hits and a “walk” that should have been a strikeout because Chris Shelton swung about ¾ of the way around, the bases were loaded with one out. Josh Hamilton hit a laser beam towards the left side, which Bartlett quickly backhanded and threw over to second base for the force play. A run scored, but without Bartlett's stop, the game would have undoubtedly been tied. One close call later, and the Rays edged out a 5–4 victory. Bartlett deserves the credit for saving last night's game. Wheeler rightfully gave him his props after the game, and why not? Even when Wheeler wasn't on his A–game, there was someone behind him to bail him out. Say what you will about Bartlett's low hitting totals, but his acquisition was one of the best things the Rays got done during the offseason.
As Todd Kalas said on last night's postgame show, this schedule can be equated to a 26.2–mile marathon. 62 out of 162 games are completed, leaving exactly 100 games to go. This is right around the 10–mile mark of the marathon, and at ½ game behind Boston, the Rays are just off the pace and ready to strike. We're ready now to see a sweep of the Rangers before it's off to Anaheim to face a team that already got swept at Tropicana Field. I'll be keeping tabs on that one — to what level, I don't know, as my last week of the college quarter is upon me now. So until I can come back, go Rays.
Last night's game definitely had its dramatics and saviors. Bradley cut a 4–2 Rays lead in half with an eighth inning home run off Trever Miller. The Rays, however, picked up an insurance run thanks to the heroics of Jason Bartlett. After a single, he stole second and third bases while the next hitter walked, then scored on a wild pitch by Jamey Walker. This kind of speed and baserunning can win more games than you might think. Wheeler, who ended the eighth inning with an out, was now on to close it out. After two hits and a “walk” that should have been a strikeout because Chris Shelton swung about ¾ of the way around, the bases were loaded with one out. Josh Hamilton hit a laser beam towards the left side, which Bartlett quickly backhanded and threw over to second base for the force play. A run scored, but without Bartlett's stop, the game would have undoubtedly been tied. One close call later, and the Rays edged out a 5–4 victory. Bartlett deserves the credit for saving last night's game. Wheeler rightfully gave him his props after the game, and why not? Even when Wheeler wasn't on his A–game, there was someone behind him to bail him out. Say what you will about Bartlett's low hitting totals, but his acquisition was one of the best things the Rays got done during the offseason.
As Todd Kalas said on last night's postgame show, this schedule can be equated to a 26.2–mile marathon. 62 out of 162 games are completed, leaving exactly 100 games to go. This is right around the 10–mile mark of the marathon, and at ½ game behind Boston, the Rays are just off the pace and ready to strike. We're ready now to see a sweep of the Rangers before it's off to Anaheim to face a team that already got swept at Tropicana Field. I'll be keeping tabs on that one — to what level, I don't know, as my last week of the college quarter is upon me now. So until I can come back, go Rays.
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