Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Devil Rays 1, Mariners 0
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Joe Kennedy emphatically ended Tampa Bay's complete-game drought. Kennedy pitched a four-hitter for his first career shutout and Brent Abernathy hit an RBI single in the eighth inning, lifting the Devil Rays over the Seattle Mariners 1-0.
The Devil Rays had set a major league record by going 194 games since their last complete game, on April 13, 2001.
“To do this against a great team like Seattle is great,” said Kennedy. “This is the highlight of my short career.”
Kennedy won two days short of his 23rd birthday. He made his big league debut last season.
“Joe was outstanding,” said Tampa Bay manager Hal McRae. “He had excellent command with his fastball and was also able to throw the change up effectively.”
The Mariners lost their third in a row, while the Devil Rays won their third straight for the first time since April 21-24. Tampa Bay got a combined shutout in its previous victory on Sunday at Baltimore.
Kennedy (3-3) struck out seven in his first-ever complete game in the majors.
Kennedy issued his only walk to Desi Relaford leading off the ninth inning. Relaford made it to third on Ichiro Suzuki's sacrifice and a flyout, but Kennedy struck out Ruben Sierra to end it.
“I thought he could finish it, and I wanted him to finish it,” said McRae. “Everytime he threw a fastball, I knew he wanted it. He even got it up to 96 (mph) down the home stretch.”
While Kennedy was pitching a gem, Jamie Moyer (3-2) was putting together a fine performance himself.
Moyer walked Chris Gomez on four pitches to open the eighth. After Jared Sandberg sacrificed, Abernathy singled to center field.
Abernathy was hitless in his previous nine at-bats against Moyer.
“Trust me, I was aware of it,” Abernathy said. “On my hit, Moyer threw a backdoor cutter that got too much of the plate. It was the first one that I saw all night.”
The Mariners played for the first time since one of their team buses caught fire in the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston after Sunday's game. No one on the team was hurt.
Kennedy faced the Mariners for the first time, and he put together the longest outing of his career.
In seven of his last eight starts, Kennedy has allowed three runs of less but managed only three wins.
“I've pitched pretty well lately, but it was all working tonight,” Kennedy said.
Mike Cameron was impressed with Kennedy.
“We had never seen him before and we thought we could get him later on, but he was strong. He stayed with what he had — the fastball,” Cameron said.
Moyer, who opened the season with three wins in his first five starts, did not have a decision in his previous four outings. In those four starts, Moyer was knocked around for 18 earned runs over 25 innings.
On this night, Moyer was sharp. He retired 18 of the first 20 batters he faced and finished with his own four-hitter.
Seattle pitchers have tossed back-to-back complete games, yet the team has come out on the short end with two losses.
“We are not swinging the bats,” said Mariners manager Lou Piniella. “We just have to swing our way through it.”
The first runner to reach second base in the game was John Flaherty, who hit a two-out double off Moyer in the fifth. Flaherty went no further as Moyer struck out Gomez on a changeup.
In the seventh, Moyer benefited from some defensive help. Randy Winn led off the inning with a double down the left-field line and advanced to third on a ground out by Steve Cox.
Greg Vaughn was intentionally walked and Ben Grieve struck out. Flaherty then hit a blooper into shallow center field, but Mike Cameron made a diving catch for the third out.
Notes: Seven of Kennedy's nine starts have come against first- or second-place teams. ... Winn's seventh-inning double was first hit in 10 at-bats since returning to the starting lineup last Saturday. He missed two games because of tightness in his right hamstring. ... Mariners relievers have a 13-1 record, while the starters are 16-14. ... Seattle was shut out for the second time this season.
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Devil Rays 1, Mariners 0
