NewsRays complete grueling road campaign
Tampa Bay (78-76) at Texas (85-69), 3:05 p.m. ET
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
09/27/09 2:02 AM ET
ARLINGTON -- Finally, the last road game of the season. Playing on the road has not been a good experience for the Rays this season. Heading into Sunday's game, the Rays are 31-49 on the road for the season and they are 13-29 on the road dating back to July 1. Of course, the road could have been worse, as the Rays understand, particularly Joe Maddon. In his inaugural campaign as manager in 2006, the Rays went 3-33 away from Tropicana Field after July 1. "That first year was ridiculous," Maddon said. "This is not good." In 2008, the Rays were 40-41 on the road. While it was not a winning record, it was far superior to this year's road work. "Last year we were a .500 team on the road," Maddon said. "If we were that this year, we would be in pretty good shape right now. It's just something we have to explore and do better at. I don't have any good answers yet." Maddon plans to consider the team's road woes long and hard during the offseason. "And I've already been thinking about [how] we need to figure out why it happened," Maddon said. "A lot of [the losses] were close games. "I think two things happened. One of the primary factors is we haven't scored enough runs, especially of late. ... Then combine that with a lot of late-inning breakdowns in relation to giving up runs. Of late, the home run has hurt us late. It's something I really want to take a good look at. We have to get better on the road again [in 2010]." David Price will start for the Rays on Sunday, and hopes to erase the memory of arguably his worst outing of the season, which came on July 4 in Arlington. The rookie right-hander allowed six earned runs on three hits while walking five in 1 1/3 innings. "I threw pretty well against these guys last time," said Price said. "Obviously I want to throw well. I'm not going to be thinking about last time when I go out there. I've moved on since then."
Pitching matchup
TB: LHP David Price (9-7, 4.41 ERA)
Maddon couldn't have been more pleased with Price's last outing. He called the rookie's start against Toronto a "quantum leap" in his development, and it only reaffirmed Price's progression over the course of the second half of the season. He had his best command of his breaking ball all season, and held the Blue Jays to just three hits and one run to outduel Roy Halladay. He's looking to continue to build on his recent starts against the Rangers, whom he held to three hits and three runs in seven innings at home on Aug. 23. Price is just 2-4 with a 5.98 ERA on the road this season.
McCarthy is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his last two starts, both against Oakland. He is 2-2 with a 4.71 ERA in four starts after missing three months with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade. He is 4-1 with a 3.76 ERA in seven starts at home this season. He hasn't pitched against the Rays this season but is 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA in six games, including five starts, against them in his career. Tidbits
Price's start Sunday will be the 54th time the Rays have started a rookie this season, the most by a defending American League champion since the 1967 Orioles had 67 games started by rookies Jim Hardin, Bill Dillman, Tom Phoebus, Mike Adamson and Dave Leonhard. Rays rookie starters Price, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis are a combined 22-14 with a 4.04 ERA. The Rays are 30-23 in games started by a rookie; the 22 rookie wins ties the club high for wins by rookies. ... Maddon said Shawn Riggans will get a start at catcher this week. ... Ben Zobrist had his first baseman's mitt on during pregame practice, which could be a precursor for seeing the Rays' jack of all trades playing first in late-inning situations; Willy Aybar, who has played a lot of first base since Carlos Pena was lost for the season, has had a tough year in the field. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
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• Monday: Rays (Jeff Niemann, 12-6, 3.81) vs. Orioles (Mark Hendrickson, 5-5, 4.37), 7:08 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Rays (Wade Davis, 1-1, 4.07) vs. Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-9, 5.20), 7:08 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Rays (James Shields, 10-12, 4.17) vs. Orioles (TBD), 7:08 p.m. ET
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
