ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — His
confidence seemingly growing with every at-bat, Carlos Pena is emerging
from a season-long slump with flair.
The suddenly red-hot slugger homered
for the sixth consecutive game, helping right-hander Matt Garza and the
Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins 6-5 on Saturday night.
"I keep saying I'm just grateful I
have an opportunity to do it," said Pena, whose .196 batting average is
his highest in more than a month. "That is awesome, so I never lose
sight of that."
The 2009 AL home run co-champion
became the first player to go deep in six straight games since Frank
Thomas did it for Oakland Sept. 5-11, 2006. He has seven homers during
the streak, giving him 15 this season and a league-leading 131 since
joining the Rays in 2007 — four more than Alex Rodriguez.
The major league record of eight
consecutive games with a homer is shared by Dale Long (Pirates, May
19-28, 1956), Don Mattingly (Yankees, July 8-18, 1987) and Ken Griffey
Jr. (Mariners, July 20-28, 1993).
"I'm trusting myself a little bit
more. I'm trusting my plan, and I'm focusing on seeing the ball and
trusting that the right swing will come out when my eyes recognize the
pitch I want," Pena said, adding that he isn't going to the plate
looking to hit home runs.
"When you try, it doesn't happen. So,
I've been focusing on the process and executing the process. …
Everything else just takes care of itself."
Pena connected off right-hander Ricky
Nolasco (5-5) in the first inning for a 2-1 lead. Carl Crawford and Sean
Rodrgiuez also homered for the Rays, who maintained baseball's best
record (40-22) and a one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
"I'm not going to say anything. … He
can just keep doing what he's doing," Garza said. "I don't care how
he's doing it, but keep doing what he's doing."
Garza (7-4) allowed four runs and
nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. Relievers Grant Balfour and Joaquin Benoit
got the Rays to the ninth inning, where Rafael Soriano sat the Marlins
down in order to earn his 16th save in 16 opportunities.
Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Reid
Brignac also drove in runs for Tampa Bay, which rebounded from losing
the opener of the Citrus Series 14-9. The Rays have won 11 of 14 games
against the Marlins over the past two-plus seasons.
A night after drawing a crowd of just
19,338, attendance jumped to 29,963 — bolstered by a postgame concert
featuring country music performer Dierks Bentley.
All three of Tampa Bay's homers were
solo shots off Nolasco, who allowed five runs and nine hits over 2 1/3
innings.
"I think tonight is just one of those
games," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I'm going to chalk it up
to just one of those games and go from there."
The Marlins trailed 5-1 when Nolasco
departed and wasted a couple of opportunities to cut into the deficit.
Hanley Ramirez tripled in the third,
but was thrown out trying to score on a fly ball that right fielder
Zobrist caught in foul territory. Dan Uggla and Cody Ross singled to
begin the fourth, but Ross was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into
a double.
Two batters later, Wes Helms hit his
first homer since Sept. 2, trimming Garza's lead to 5-3. The Marlins
scored the final run off the Rays starter, who walked two and struck out
seven, when Ramirez grounded into a double play in the fifth.
Notes
Jose Canseco homered in five
consecutive games for Tampa Bay in 1999. … Marlins LF Chris Coughlan
tripled in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
… The Rays placed OF Gabe Kapler on the 15-day disabled list with a
right hip flexor strain and recalled OF Justin Ruggiano from Triple-A
Durham. … SS Jason Bartlett, out since May 30 with right hamstring
strain, will begin a two-game minor league rehab stint with Durham on
Monday. He's expected to return to Tampa Bay's lineup Wednesday at
Atlanta.