News
Rays call on Garza for brilliance once again
Tampa Bay (11-16) vs. Baltimore (10-16), 4:08 p.m. ET
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
05/05/09 12:31 AM ET
ST. PETERSBURG -- Matt Garza looked immaculate on the mound during his last outing, Thursday night against the Red Sox.With Tropicana Field buzzing, the Rays right-hander retired the first 18 hitters he faced before Jacoby Ellsbury reached first on an infield single to lead off the seventh.
Garza has flirted with baseball immortality in the past, like the game he pitched against the Marlins last season when he allowed just one hit. His stuff is so good one expects to see great things from him every time he starts.
Instead, there have been some bumps in Garza's road to finding consistency. While he has the best stuff on the staff, he hasn't shown an ability to deliver a solid outing when he doesn't have his best stuff.
Garza will start against the Orioles Tuesday afternoon, which prompted a question to Rays manager Joe Maddon regarding what the righty needs to do to move to the next level.
"I think it comes down to self control," Maddon said. "You saw it the other night, in a real big game, in a real big moment, how under control he was. I just would like him to be really structured within his routine, regardless of who we're playing, when we're playing, where we're playing. Just stay within the structure of that routine. He's really good when he does that. And I think he will."
Maddon allowed that Garza is "relatively" young and inexperienced.
"And he is an amped-up kind of guy," Maddon said. "We just need to get him to understand keeping those blinders on in a sense to keep him focused."
Maddon believes if Garza finds that kind of focus, games like Thursday night's will become a more common occurrence for the right-hander.
"Because his stuff's that good," Maddon said. "So that's what I see, just a more consistent approach to the game."
Michel Hernandez caught Garza's Thursday night gem, but everyday catcher Dioner Navarro will be behind the plate Tuesday afternoon against the Orioles.
Pitching matchupTB: RHP Matt Garza (2-2, 3.82 ERA)
Garza was about as dominant as you could be while getting the win against the Red Sox on Saturday. The 25-year-old had a perfect game going through six innings -- which ended when Ellsbury led off the seventh inning with an infield single -- and ended up giving up just one hit with one walk while striking out 10 through 7 2/3 innings. Garza, who notched the franchise record by retiring 18 straight hitters to start the game, finished throwing 108 pitches -- 75 for strikes. Had he not given up the hit, however, fMaddon said he would've let him go pretty much as long as possible to complete the no-hitter -- something the Rays have never done in franchise history. Against Boston, Garza was pretty much flawless with his command, as he started ahead on 17 of the 24 batters he faced and got into just four three-ball counts all night. For his career against the Orioles, he is 5-0 with a 2.80 ERA in six starts. BAL: RHP Koji Uehara (2-2, 4.50 ERA)
Uehara left his last start after suffering a bruised sternum on a line drive back through the box, but the Orioles don't expect him to miss any time. The right-hander has worked at least five innings in each of his first five starts and has held the opposition to three runs or fewer four times. Uehara won his first two starts and has had five strikeouts or more in three straight outings. Tidbits
Evan Longoria speculated that Carl Crawford's performance Sunday -- which included 4-for-4 at the plate and six stolen bases -- could be one of the best performances anybody has seen all year. "He said he didn't even know he had the six stolen bases," said Longoria, who hits behind Crawford in the order. "I wish he would have known because I wouldn't have cared about taking another pitch to try and let him break the record. ... Maddon believes that B.J. Upton's slow start with the bat is due to his not experiencing a full Spring Training. He added that he believed Upton is close to being where he needs to be to find success at the plate and he complimented his center fielder for playing stellar defense despite being in a slump. ... The Rays' club-record eight steals Sunday were the most by an American League team in 11 years since the Royals stole eight on Aug. 1, 1998, against the Orioles. ... Longoria and Carlos Pena are the first teammates with 28-plus RBIs through 26 games of a season since Duke Snider (31) and Roy Campanella (28) with Brooklyn in 1955. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Rays (Andy Sonnanstine, 1-3, 6.75) at Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 2-0, 5.40), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Rays (Jeff Niemann, 2-3, 5.68) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 2-1, 3.82), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Rays (James Shields, 3-2, 3.51) at Red Sox (Brad Penny, 2-1, 7.61), 7:10 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.
