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Jackson brilliant as Devil Rays shut out Rangers

Aug 12, 2007 - 4:27 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays finally saw what all the fuss was about.

Edwin Jackson tossed a four-hitter for his first career shutout as the Devil Rays posted a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Displaying a fastball that hit 99 miles per hour in the ninth inning, Jackson struck out eight with just one walk in his first career complete game and the first shutout of the season for the Devil Rays.

"When he gets deep into the game, he really gets aggressive and throws the ball well which he did tonight," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I like when a guy smells it like that."

The 23-year-old Jackson (3-11) entered with the second-highest ERA in the American League among starting pitchers with 20 starts at 6.35, trailing only Chicago's Jose Contreras (6.49). But he looked more like the 19-year-old phenom who became the youngest Los Angeles Dodger to win his first start in 2003 before struggling for most of the next four seasons.

"The whole situation could have been a lot different right now. I could have been in the bullpen right now," Jackson said. "But, I've come out in the second half and shown that I won't give them a chance to put me in the pen."

The righthander retired the first 10 batters he faced before Brad Wilkerson doubled in the fourth inning. Jackson also surrendered a double by Donnie Murphy and singles by Michael Young and Gerald Laird.

Jackson threw 110 pitches, 73 for strikes, and did not need more than 15 in any frame.

Texas starter John Rheinecker (1-1), who entered with a 14.63 ERA in the first two innings this season, again struggled early Saturday. Red-hot Carl Crawford sparked a first-inning rally when he lined a single to right field with one out and scored on a two-out line double to right by Delmon Young for a quick 1-0 lead.

Crawford entered the contest 20-for-35 in his previous seven games, setting a club record for most hits in that span. With an eighth-inning triple, Crawford broke his own team record with his eighth straight consecutive multi-hit game.

"It might mean something if we were in a pennant race," Crawford said of his hot streak. "Right now, they're just numbers. Hitting streaks are good, but without the wins, they're just numbers."

The Devil Rays doubled their advantage in the second, when Greg Norton followed a single by Josh Wilson with an RBI double to left.

Rheinecker settled down nicely thereafter, retiring 13 straight hitters until Delmon Young blooped a double down the right field line, just out of the reach of a diving Nelson Cruz. Brendan Harris then lined a single to right, and Delmon Young's slide just beat a perfect throw by Cruz.

Rheinecker allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.

"He's a warrior," Rangers manager Ron Washington said of Rheinecker. "He can pitch up here. He goes out there and you never see him give in."