CANSECO'S CLOUT MAKES MO'S MOOT; HILL FAILS TO HOLD ON TO EARLY FOUR-RUN LEAD.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Florida. The Devil Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Devil Rays have played in Tropicana Field. are getting everything they expected out of Jose Canseco - and more. The slugger homered for the fifth straight game, giving him the major-league lead with 17, and also had a RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in double for the last run in Friday night's 10-9 victory over the Angels. The Angels scored six unearned runs in the second, three of them on Mo Vaughn's ninth homer. Andy Sheets Andrew Mark Sheets (born November 19, 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Seattle Mariners (1996–97), San Diego Padres (1998), Anaheim Angels (1999), Boston Red Sox (2000) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2001–02). and Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). also had RBI singles in the inning off Devil Rays starter Tony Saunders But Ken Hill couldn't protect a 6-2 lead. ``We scored enough runs tonight to win,'' said Vaughn, who struck out with two runners on and the Angels trailing by one run in the eighth. ``We just didn't do everything that we wanted to do on our pitching side.'' Canseco's homer, leading off the third inning, was his seventh in 10 games and trimmed Anaheim's lead to 6-4. Quinton McCracken Quinton Antoine McCracken (born March 16, 1970 in Wilmington, North Carolina) is an independent league baseball outfielder. He was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise's first center fielder and batter on March 31, 1998. He is a 1992 graduate of Duke University. chased Hill with an RBI double in the fourth, and Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. went ahead 7-6 when Martinez - the first batter to face reliever Mike Magnante On August 22, 1997, Magnante struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. - doubled off right fielder Todd Greene's glove to drive in two runs. The Devil Rays signed the 34-year-old Canseco to inject power into an anemic offense but are also reaping the benefits of him hitting for average. A .237 hitter in 1998 when he hit a career-high 46 homers for Toronto, Canseco is hitting .304 this year - the highest his average has been this late in a season since he was at .301 on Sept. 20, 1996. ``I don't think about it. I remember last year when I was hitting .240,'' he said of the strong start. ``I hit a lot of balls hard that just didn't go for hits.'' Canseco's streak of five consecutive game with a home run equals his career best. ``It's luck, really,'' he said. ``I'm just putting a good swing on the ball. The bat speed and technique are pretty good right now.'' Kevin Stocker's RBI single off Magnante (1-1) broke a 7-7 tie in the fifth inning. A second run scored for a 9-7 lead when Stocker was caught stealing in a rundown between first and second base. Rick White (4-0) pitched 1-2/3 perfect innings in relief. Roberto Hernandez gave up a two-out, RBI single to Orlando Palmeiro in the ninth, but retired Andy Sheets on a flyout to center to earn his major league-leading 15th save in 16 opportunities. The Angels made it 7-7 in the top of the fifth on Steve Decker's RBI double, which finished Saunders' night. Pinch-hitter Chris Pritchett's sacrifice fly off Esteban Yan trimmed Tampa Bay's lead to 9-8 in the seventh. Yan struck out Vaughn with runners at first and third with one out in the Anaheim eighth. After the reliever worked out of the jam, Canseco made it 10-8 with an RBI double. ``We had our big guy up there in exactly the situation you want,'' Angels manager Terry Collins said. ``If they want to pitch around him, we have the bases loaded. If they want to pitch to him, I like my chances. You tip your hat. This is a night when you say they got it done and we didn't.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Angels' Mo Vaughn starts his home-run trot with a second-inning three-run blast. Chris O'Meara/Associated Press |
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