Rays Notes

By JOHN LEMBO
jlembo@bradenton.com

ST . PETERSBURG – Carlos Pena and Reid Brignac homered, and Edwin Jackson settled in after a rough start as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-4 Monday during the next-to-last game at Al Lang Field. Jackson, who spotted Pittsburgh two runs in the first, went seven innings to earn his first win of the spring. He allowed seven hits, struck out two and walked two. Tampa Bay improved to 16-5 with the win, while the Pirates fell to 9-16.

NEVER GETS OLD: The Rays have found a surefire way to score three runs – put Akinora Iwamura and Carl Crawford on base, and have Pena swing for the fences. Pena has hit two three-run home runs in the last three days, and both have come with Iwamura and Crawford on base. Pena, who swatted a franchise-record 46 home runs last season, leads the team in homers (four) and RBIs (13) this spring. He is also batting .286.
THE WONDER FROM DOWN UNDER: Australian native Grant Balfour had another good outing Monday, when he closed the game with a scoreless ninth inning. Acquired last summer from Milwaukee for Seth McLung, Balfour lowered his ERA to 2.61 in nine games this spring. He has struck out eight and walked five in 10 1/3 innings, and is holding opponents to a .162 clip.

SPARKPLUG: Iwamura stoked the Rays rallies Monday, reaching base in all three plate appearances and scoring three runs. Iwamura, who batted leadoff, is hitting .316 on the season with 10 runs scored.

HE CAN HIT, TOO: Elliot Johnson may have made his name with a home-plate collision against the New York Yankees earlier this spring. But the guy has done much more than. Johnson went 1-for-2 Monday, raising his average to .465. He has team-high 20 hits and 14 runs scored, and has also drove in eight runs and homered once.

JACKSON FINDING GROOVE: Jackson appears to be getting stronger as the spring runs longer. Counting Monday’s performance against the Pirates, Jackson has allowed three runs and 10 hits in his last two starts – a stretch of 12 2/3 innings. He’s struck out nine in that span.

UP NEXT: The Rays hit the road Tuesday when they head to Knology Park in Dunedin to face the Toronto Blue Jays for a 1:05 p.m. start. Jason Hammel is expected to go for the Rays, while former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay is slated to start for the Blue Jays.