So, weren't the Philadelphia Phillies supposed to be something fearsome?
The Phillies, on the verge of clinching the playoffs for a week, were clobbered by the Rays Saturday night. It ended up 12-1, and it was every bit as lopsided as it sounded.
The Phillies, shut out on Friday night, had just seven hits on Saturday. They didn't score until they managed an unearned run in the seventh.
Diaz had three hits./KIM HUKARI
The Rays, on the other hand, had one of their best nights offensively. They combined for 17 hits. Victor Mesa Jr. had four hits, his first four-hit game. Yandy Diaz had three hits. Junior Caminero, Liam Hicks and Richie Palacios each had two.
Caminero hit his 42nd home run of the season.
Palacios drove in four runs.
The Rays lost starting pitcher Griffin Jax in the third when he was struck by a line drive.
Philadelphia started pitcher Aaron Nola on two days rest. It didn't pay off. Nola gave up three runs in the first inning and was pulled.
The Rays and Phillies both conclude their regular season today at 3:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park. Nick Martinez (15-5) will start for the Rays against Zack Wheeler (13-5). If the Phillies win, they could reach the playoffs yet.
The adage is that you never apologize for a victory.
But if it's okay with everyone else, can the South Florida Bulls at least blush a little.
The Bulls were horrible Saturday, having to come from behind in the fourth quarter to slip past winless Bowling Green, 14-6 on the road. It was good enough to lead USF to a 4-0 record, but it was completely devoid of style points.
Bulls' quarterback Michael Van Buren was sacked six times. He fumbled twice, and he ended up with only 52 yards passing.
The Bulls trailed 6-0 through three quarters. Their own defense dominated Bowling Green's offense.
That defense, and running back D.J. Crowther, led the Bulls' comeback. Crowther ran for 112 yards in the second half (after 31 in the first half).
The Bulls made a saving stand on Bowling Green's final possession. The Falcons drove 66 yards on 15 plays to the Bulls' 14 before losing the ball on downs with 37 seconds to play.
USF is home Saturday night against Temple.
Baugh running all over SEC./TIM WIRT
Florida 52, Ole Miss 28: For all the surrounding noise, perhaps the best hire in the SEC this off-season wasn't Lane Kiffin.
Perhaps it was Jon Sumtall.
Sumrall’s Gators overwhelmed the fourth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels Saturday. Yeah, skeptics might point out that Ole Miss won a big game last week, or that they were on the road. Whatever, the Gators treated them rudely from the opening kickoff.
The Gators rushed for 302 yards and six touchdowns in their victory. Jaden Baugh, again, was the top runner with 142 yads and three scores. Duke Clark added 126 yards and another score.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 298 yards in the loss.
Florida is home Saturday against Missouri.
FSU 34, Central Arkansas 7: Four weeks in, and we still don't know how good the FSU Seminoles are.
They've played two good teams -- Alabama and SMU -- and have lost both times. They played two gimmie opponents, and won them both.
It has led to a disgruntled fan base, who probably won't be satisfied despite the easy win.
Quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 224 yards and two scores. Receiver Jayvan Boggs caught six passes fof 122 yards.
FSU is hone on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to face Virginia.
Miami 52, Central Michigan 3: It didn't last long, and few fans took it seriously. But there for almost four minutes of the first half, Central Michigan led the Hurricanes.
It was 3-0, long before the sixth-ranked Hurricanes blasted the Chippewas.
After that, it was business as usual for the Canes. Quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 338 yards and three scores. Running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey rushed for 104 yards and wide receiver Malachi Toney caught six passes for 120 yards.
The Hurricanes visit Clemson Saturday at a yet-to-be-determined time.
Evidently, the winning isn't over yet for the Tampa Bay Rays.
After clinching the AL East, the Rays had looked largely uninterested in their last two games. That ended Friday night, however, when the Rays shut out a very good Philadelphia Phillies team, 2-0.
Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta once again looked like a trade-day steal for the Rays. Peralta threw 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and allowed just four hits. Relievers Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly, Cole Susler and Bryan Baker combined for 3 2/3 innings of hitless relief.
Fortes hit his sixth homer./KIM HUKARI
In his last 34 innings, Peralta has given up just three runs. He is now 10-11 on the year.
The Rays needed a well-pitched game. Cristopher Sanchez was excellent for the Phillies. He gave up three hits in the first inning, but only two afterward. He struck out 10 Rays.
The Rays got consecutive hits from Junior Caminero, Ryan Vilade and Jonny DeLuca in the first inning for the first run. Nick Fortes homered in the second inning.
Peralta and the bullpen made that stand up. Trea Turner and Bryce Harper led off the sixth inning with singles, but Booser came on to leave the runners stranded.
The Rays and Phillies play again tonight at Citizens Bank Park at 7:15. Griffin Jax (8-10) will start for the Rays. The Phillies have not announced a starter.
Turns out, the Tampa Bay Rays aren't that good when they have nothing to play for.
The Rays lost their third game in four to the New York Yankees Thursday night, blowing a four-run lead in a 6-4 loss at Yankee Stadium.
The Rays clinched the division title on Tuesday, but since then, they'e been outscored 15-4.
Thursday's game started well enough, with the Rays scoring two runs in the third inning, another in the fifth and another in the sixth.
Rays' starter Ian Seymour was sharp, throwing five innings of one-hit, shutout basesall. But the Rays didn't exactly use their A bullpen, following with Jake Woodward, Brady Hopkins and Steven Matz.
Seymour had a strong start./KIM HUKARI
George Lombard Jr. hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero each had two hits. Caminero also drove in two runs, giving him 99 on the season.
The Rays left 12 men on base and were only three-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
The Rays enter their final series of the season tonight at 6:40 in Philadelphia. Freddy Peralta (9-11) will start for the Rays against Cristopher Sanchez (18-6).
Thursday, 4 a.m. No playoffs on the line. No division title. For the Tampa Bay Rays, it was probably the least important game of the year. Alas, they played like it. One night after clinching the AL East title, the Rays were clobbered 9-2 by the New York Yankees. The Rays managed just six hits […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Presenting your American League East champions…the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays won their 96th game of the year, stopping the New York Yankees 6-1 in the second game of a doubleheader. The Rays, picked to be a mediocre team when the season began, ended in first place for 110 days to capture […]
Monday, 4 a.m. For more than two hours, while lightning delayed the misery, Bucs’ fans had a chance to reflect on what has gone wrong. The answer? The Bucs just aren’t good enough. Tampa Bay squandered a 10-point lead against a dismal franchise and lost 23-19 to the Cleveland Browns Sunday. The Bucs are now […]
Monday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays said goodbye — for how — to Tropicana Field on Sunday. Evidently, they’ll miss it. The Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-1, with a strong star. The Rays scored four runs in the first — getting three of their four hits in the inning — and coasted. […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. They didn’t score enough. Heck, they didn’t even hit enough. But they win. For the Tampa Bay Rays, that was enough. The Rays edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Richie Palacious’ blook single in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday at Tropicana Field. Palacios, a .234 hitter, slapped a 1-2 […]
Sunday, 3 a.m. South Florida can take solace in the final score. It finished about as lopsided as the experts said, and the Bulls are now 3-0 on the season. On the other hand, if you want to fret a bit, you an got back to the 21-17 score the Bulls had over Deleware State […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
