Tuesday night marked the third time in about five weeks a Rays trainer has come to the mound to check on closer Troy Percival in the middle of a save situation. ...more

June 26, 2008

SEBRING — Cesar Martinez didn't let an error in the outfield linger over his team very long during Monday's practice — as quickly as the play was made, Martinez employed the youngster to run off his mistake. ...more

June 26, 2008

AVON PARK — Christian Crews may have been fatigued from a two-day rest, but he still hurled five solid innings and smacked a game-changing three-run home run in the third to lift the Okeechobee All-Stars to an 11-4 victory over the Avon Park All-Stars during the Dixie Youth Majors District 8 tournament at Durrah Martin Recreational Complex on Sunday morning. "I was a little tired but I just came out and tried to throw strikes," Crews said. "My fastball was working, and on the home run, I was just able to take advantage of a pitch up in the strike zone." Okeechobee assistant coach Neal Crawford has seen Crews put up performances such as this all season long and had all the trust in the world for his hurler. "Christian is deadly with his fastball," Crawford said. "He had one bad pitch when he hung one up there and [Fauthree] made him pay with the homer. I'm just really proud of these kids. I wouldn't have cared if we had won by one run. We're just happy with a win." ...more

June 22, 2008

The indoor batting cage at Tropicana Field got pretty crowded in the top of the ninth inning Saturday night. ...more

June 22, 2008

AVON PARK — The fastball thrown from Trey Perry's arm mowed down the final batter of Avon Park's 8-4 win over Clewiston just as the darkened heavens' thunderclap signaled the coming rain on Durrah Martin Recreational Complex. ...more

June 21, 2008

The thrill was gone from Tropicana Field on Friday night. Some sort of letdown surely was expected with the Cubs, their mystique and their fans in the rear-view mirror and the slumping Houston Astros moving into the visitors' dugout. An opponent that came to town having lost eight in a row and 17 of its last 20 games didn't do much to get the juices flowing for the Rays or their supporters, making the effort Roy Oswalt put forth more than enough to secure a welcome 4-3 victory for the Astros. ...more

June 21, 2008

As the ivy began to grow on all those stunned Cubs fans, Carl Crawford circled the bases under the soon-to-be-orange dome, with three runners touching home plate ahead of him. It was grand, it was a slam, and there was no stopping his team. ...more

June 20, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Garrett DeRoss looked over at his teammate in frustration as he watched ball four duck into the catcher's mitt. DeRoss was given first base after his second intentional walk of the inning, but his Sebring teammates made Lake Placid pay for their generosity. Sebring erupted for seven runs in the game-changing fourth inning, as the boys in blue defeated host Lake Placid 13-4 in the opening game of the two-team Dixie Youth Majors (ages 10-12) "O" Zone District 8 tournament at Lake June Recreational Complex. ...more

June 18, 2008