Upton caps off comeback with walk-off home run

May 16, 3:55 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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Those are the Rays we know and love - mob scene at home AP/Chris O'Meara

On an eventful night at Tropicana Field, the Rays made a furious comeback to return to the win column against the Indians. Here’s what you need to know about how it went down:

Scott Kazmir continued an alarming pattern of bad outings from the Rays’ starters. He gave up a leadoff homer to Grady Sizemore and it didn’t improve much from there. Kaz allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and four walks in 3.1 innings. To put Kazmir’s control problems in perspective, recall that he led the American League in walks in 2005 by allowing 100 in 186 innings pitched. If he continues at his current pace and pitches 186 innings again, he will finish with 112 walks in 2009. Jim Hickey needs to step it up and get the starters rolling. Right now only Jeff Niemann can say he won his last start.

The Rays’ defense, thankfully, prevented it from being even worse for Kazmir. In the third inning, Gabe Gross made a great catch against the wall in right field to rob Matt LaPorta of a bases-loaded double. Jhonny Peralta scored on the play, but the catch probably saved two runs. On the very next play, Jamey Carroll hit what should have been an RBI single to center, but Navarro perfectly blocked a sliding Mark DeRosa from touching the plate, allowing B.J. Upton’s laser strike from center field to get the out at home.

Lance Cormier is pitching like a superhero. He gave Joe Maddon 2.2 scoreless innings tonight and his performance allowed the Rays to get back into the game. How long will Cormier last at this pace though? He’s on track to pitch 127 innings! Hold on, let me check my calendar. Yes, it’s 2009, and relief pitchers just do not throw anywhere near 127 innings in a season anymore. He’s been the best pitcher on the staff, but the starters need to put the team in better position to give Lance a few more days off.

The Rays are a base-stealing juggernaut. They stole five more bases tonight and the steals were instrumental in mounting the comeback. Upton stole third to ignite a three-run fourth inning. Crawford stole second and immediately scored on Longoria’s single in the sixth. The Rays are now on pace for 271 steals on the season. It would be the most bases a team has stolen since the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals stole 314 on their way to the World Series – and believe it or not, the Rays have actually been INCREASING their pace over the last couple of weeks.

Ben Zobrist tied the game with his seventh – that’s right – seventh home run of the season. The clutch dinger came off of Rafael Betancourt to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning. Ben Zobrist now has seven more home runs than David Ortiz. As a matter of fact, among American League players with 75 or more at-bats, Ben Zobrist is second in AB/HR ratio – trailing only teammate Carlos Pena.

Finally, the big news of the night – B.J. Upton came alive offensively and won it with a walk-off home run to lead off the ninth inning against Luis Vizcaino. First, about the walk-off: This was the Rays’ first walk-off win of 2009. Their last walk-off win came in game two of the ’08 ALCS against the Red Sox – on a B.J. Upton sac fly. The last walk-off home run for the Rays also came against the Indians – Carlos Pena did it to them on August 6, 2008. The homer was B.J. Upton’s second career walk-off – the first coming on September 8, 2007 against the Blue Jays. Okay, now more on Upton: He went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .190 – not much, but .190 is the highest Upton’s batting average has been since April 24. The home run was Upton’s first of the year and it was actually the third time in the game he turned on an inside pitch and hit it well to left field. He got underneath one his first time up and flew out, then ripped a double over LaPorta’s head in the fourth and finally made the sweet home run connection in the bottom of the ninth. Those were three swings we haven’t seen Upton making this past month as his average dipped to a low of .152 last week. You have to believe he has turned a corner here and big things could lie ahead.

The Rays overcame a seven-run deficit to win tonight – the greatest comeback in team history.

The two teams will go at it again on Saturday afternoon. Start time is 4:10 at the Trop and the game will be televised on FOX. The pitching matchup will be Matt Garza vs. Carl Pavano.

Think Upton will keep up the hot hitting or will he fall back into a slump? Let me know in a comment.

Jason Bartlett hits: 46

Jason Bartlett groundball singles between short and third: 9

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