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 "The boys have their swagger back," he said Tuesday night after
his team beat the St. Louis Cardinals. "We are one of the best teams
in the American League."
Wednesday night's series finale did little to change Maddon's mind.
Right-hander Alex Cobb tossed seven shutout innings and knocked in
the only run Tampa Bay needed as the Rays swept a two-game
interleague series with a 3-0 decision at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Cobb (6-6) allowed five hits and whiffed 10 with no walks as Tampa
Bay (49-53) swept a two-city road trip for the first time in its 17
seasons. The Rays won three games in Minnesota to start the trip.
It was also the eighth consecutive road victory for Tampa Bay, which
moved within 4 1/2 games of the Seattle Mariners for the American
League's second wild-card spot.
"Great vibe in the dugout," Maddon said. "We just played well. The
only thing we didn't do well was we left too many runners on, but
that's going to happen.
"Cobb had great fastball command, and he worked his changeup off
it."
St. Louis (54-47) got just two runners into scoring position off
Cobb, whose best work occurred in the sixth after third baseman Matt
Carpenter stroked a leadoff double and moved to third on a sacrifice
bunt by second baseman Kolten Wong.
With the infield in, Cobb induced a grounder to third from left
fielder Matt Holliday, and Evan Longoria easily threw out Carpenter
at home. First baseman Matt Adams bounced back to the mound, and
that was it for the Cardinals.
Cobb closed his 104-pitch outing in style, getting center fielder
Jon Jay to look at a called third strike on the inside corner.
"Hands down, tonight's the most comfortable I've felt," Cobb said.
"When my mechanics are right, all my pitches play off each other.
The fastball stays down in the zone and the changeup stays on the
same plane."
Jay said of Cobb, "He dominated us tonight."
Cobb also contributed offensively with the first hit of his major
league career, lining a double down the right field line in the top
of the second off Lance Lynn (11-7) to score shortstop Yunel Escobar
with the game's first run.
Cobb's second time up was a lot more painful, as he took a fastball
off his pitching elbow.
"Honestly, I thought I had a broken elbow for a moment," he said.
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After a few minutes to regain his bearings, Cobb stayed in the game
and kept on dealing until Maddon pinch-hit for him in the eighth.
Brad Boxberger fanned two in the eighth, and Jake McGee struck out
the side in the ninth for his 15th save.
Rays center fielder Desmond Jennings went 3-for-5, scoring two runs.
Longoria knocked him in with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and
left fielder Brandon Guyer singled home Jennings in the ninth.
Lynn failed in his bid to forge a three-way tie for the National
League lead in wins despite pitching a solid game. Lynn allowed six
hits and two runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings, issuing three walks
and striking out seven.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Cardinals, who fell into a
second-place tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League
Central. Both teams are 2 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.
"It's just baseball," Jay said. "It's just a couple of bad games
here and there. We're right where we want to be."
Among the few lowlights for Tampa Bay was Escobar getting booted in
the fourth after arguing a called third strike. The shortstop jumped
up and down and then confronted plate umpire Dan Bellino. It was
Bellino's major-league-high sixth ejection of the year.
NOTES: St. Louis activated LHP Kevin Siegrist (left forearm strain)
from the 15-day disabled list and optioned LHP Nick Greenwood to
Triple-A Memphis. Siegrist was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 23 games
before he was injured May 23 in Cincinnati. ... Tampa Bay 3B Evan
Longoria's ninth-inning homer Tuesday night gave him 593 career
RBIs, breaking the franchise record of 592 set by Carl Crawford.
Longoria drove in another run Wednesday. ... Cardinals manager Mike
Matheny announced that RHP Shelby Miller would return to the
rotation Saturday against the Cubs in Chicago, with RHP Carlos
Martinez going back to the bullpen. Martinez made seven starts but
lasted only four innings in each of his past two outings.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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