Recap: Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota
Sports Network | September 21, 2008
St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Francisco Liriano hurled seven solid innings as Minnesota topped Tampa Bay, 4-1, in the finale of a four-game series at Tropicana Field.
Liriano (6-3) allowed just one run on five hits while walking for and fanning seven for the Twins, who won for just the second time in eight games and climbed to within two games behind Chicago in the AL Central. The White Sox were playing at Kansas City Sunday.
Joe Mauer finished 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and a run scored for Minnesota, while Mike Redmond, Adam Everett and Carlos Gomez each drove in a run.
Carlos Pena had the only RBI for the Rays, who clinched a postseason birth for the first time in franchise history by beating the Twins on Saturday but saw their lead in the AL East shrink to 1 1/2 games after second-place Boston beat Toronto, 3-0, on Sunday. Tampa Bay's magic number for clinching the division remains at seven.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-8) surrendered four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings en route to the loss.
The Rays jumped on top with a run in the third. Michel Hernandez singled to lead off the frame and advanced to third on B.J. Upton's one-out double. After Ben Zobrist walked to load the bases, Pena lofted a sacrifice fly to left.
Minnesota quickly answered and took control of the contest with a four-run fourth. Mauer started things by drawing a walk, and moved up 90 feet when Justin Morneau reached on a fielder's choice before crossing the plate on Redmond's one-out, run-scoring single up the middle.
After Brian Buscher flied out, Everett got on with an infield single that Evan Longoria threw away, enabling two runs to score. Everett then capped the frame by racing home as Gomez laid down a bunt single.
Pitching took over from there as Liriano held the Rays at bay before Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan came on to finish things with an inning of scoreless relief apiece. Nathan earned his 38th save with a perfect ninth.
Highly-touted rookie David Price, the top overall pick in the 2007 first-year player draft, will get his first major league start for the Rays on Monday in Baltimore...Sonnanstine is now winless in his last six starts.
