Rays defeat Indians in bizarre game
ST. PETERSBURG (AP) – Andy Sonnanstine thought the last time he batted third was in Little League, maybe.
Sonnanstine delivered after a pregame mistake forced the pitcher to bat Sunday, hitting an RBI double in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
The game was delayed 13 minutes before the bottom of the first due to a lineup card error by the Rays that listed both Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria as the third baseman. Longoria was supposed to be the designated hitter, but Tampa Bay lost the DH position because of the snafu and was forced to put Sonnanstine in the third spot of the lineup.
“I knew something was up, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen,” Sonnanstine said. “They told me that I was going to have to hit, and I corrected them and told them ‘I get to hit.’ I took it as an opportunity. That was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Sonnanstine (2-4) went 1 for 3, including a run-scoring double in the fourth. He also reached on a failed sacrifice in the first and struck out looking in the third.
Rays manager Joe Maddon took the blame for the lineup card miscue. He didn’t notice the problem before signing it.
“I messed up, and the players picked me up,” he said.
On the mound, Sonnanstine gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his sixth save.
Ben Francisco had two homers and four RBIs for the Indians, who lost three straight against the Rays after winning the series opener Thursday.
There was a brief scrum in the bottom of the eighth after Indians closer Kerry Wood’s first two pitches went behind and in tight to B.J. Upton. Catcher Victor Martinez, who got out of the way of a high-and-inside pitch earlier in the series, got into a yelling match with someone on the Rays’ bench before both dugouts emptied.
Maddon feels Wood was intentionally throwing at Upton in response to the lead-off hitter stealing a base Thursday with the Rays trailing 9-0. Tampa Bay wound up scoring six times in the inning after the stolen base.
“From the get-go, it felt like one of those days. You just knew something wasn’t right,” Upton said. “The more I think about it, bringing the closer in to get one more out, it probably should have been heads up in the box anyway. It’s over with, and we move on.”
The Rays may have gotten a big break in the eighth when it appeared the umpires blew the call on Ryan Garko’s deep drive to left with one out. It was ruled that Carl Crawford caught the fly after it first hit his glove while jumping at the wall. TV replays indicated the ball went off the padding just below the home-run line before the left fielder got to it.
Umpire crew chief Tim McClelland said Crawford’s catch is not reviewable by video.
“We had just a little bit of everything,” Crawford said. “One of those games that, who’s watching it on TV would be happy with the entertainment.”