From the pile of ashes that was the first-place Tampa Bay Rays sprang new life Thursday afternoon, as the team impressed in all aspects of the game while beating the San Diego Padres by a 5-3 margin (is it ill-advised to drop a phoenix metaphor with the Arizona Diamondbacks heading into town?). Starting pitcher Matt Garza returned to winning ways the very same day that Tampa Bay’s bats started working again. The defense, which had been there all along, remained in top form as the Rays took the third and final game against a team that had stymied them in two previous games.
“Whenever he got away mechanically and was having a hard time throwing the ball where he wanted to, he was able to right himself,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said about Garza in a post-game press conference. “I could see his confidence growing as that game was in progress.”
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.