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Garza nearly flawless as Rays down Rangers

Aug 16, 2008 - 5:16 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Matt Garza took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Tampa Bay Rays pounded four homers en route to their third straight victory, a 7-0 triumph on Friday over the Texas Rangers.

Carlos Pena, Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross each homered in a four-run fifth inning for the Rays (74-47), who have won six of their last seven and own a 3 1/2-game lead over the Boston Red Sox (71-51) in the American League East.

Garza (10-7) issued a walk with two outs in the first but retired the next 15 batters before Ian Kinsler singled to shallow center field with two outs in the sixth to break up the no-hitter. Justin Ruggiano, who replaced B.J. Upton in center field at the beginning of the inning, came in on the ball and dove for it, only to have it glance off his glove for a single.

"I thought that was an inappropriate call," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said of Kinsler being awarded a hit. "I called upstairs to the box on that call and that was the first time in three years that I've done that."

Ruggiano had entered the game after Maddon removed Upton immediately following a double play ball on which Upton was slow getting to first base.

"That has no place here, 5.33 (seconds) to first base," Maddon said. "I can't permit that and if we're going to be a great organization for years to come, I want to send a message that our minor leaguers see as well. That has no place here. I haven't spoken to B.J. and I won't until tomorrow, but he won't be in the lineup on Saturday, I'll tell you that."

"I was wrong," Upton said. "I didn't run it out and for that I'm not playing tomorrow. It stings a little. He (Maddon) wanted to make a move and he made it. I just thought there was already two outs. I can't let him make me an example anymore. I guess I'm the only one not running balls out. Hopefully it's over and it's the last time he'll have to do this."

Garza yielded two hits and two walks while striking out nine in notching his second shutout of the season - and career.

"I looked up in the second inning and saw I had 35 pitches. I knew I needed to get as many outs as fast as I could," Garza said. "I had a better slider than I've had in a while and also kept throwing fastballs down in the zone."

He became the third Rays pitcher to reach 10 victories, joining Andy Sonnanstine with 12 and James Shields with 10. It's the first time in Tampa Bay's history the team has had three 10-game winners.

Tampa Bay got to Rangers starter Kevin Millwood in the fourth when Willy Aybar led off the frame by lifting his seventh homer into the right field seats. In seven games since third baseman Evan Longoria suffered a right wrist fracture, Aybar is hitting .310 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI.

Millwood (6-7), who was activated from the disabled list Friday after spending nearly three weeks out with a strained right groin, had his outing unravel in the fifth.

"It wasn't good tonight," Millwood said. "It seemed like every time I missed, they hit the ball hard. I was just missing my spots."

After striking out Upton to start the inning, Millwood allowed a solo homer by Carlos Pena - his 24th - and a double to Cliff Floyd before setting down Aybar on strikes for the second out. Hinske and Gross then followed with back-to-back blasts, ending Millwood's night.

The veteran righthander was charged with five runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The four home runs he surrendered matched a career-high.

Floyd tacked on an RBI double in the seventh and Pena finished with three runs scored for Tampa Bay.

The win was Tampa Bay's sixth on the current 10-game road trip with two to play, giving the club a chance to even its road record at 30-30.

"We've been a good road team but it's been a lot different for us on the road this season. We've got to get better on the road, and I like the way we've been playing against Seattle, Oakland and now the Rangers," Maddon said.

Texas, which leads the majors in runs scored, has been shut out in consecutive games for the first time this season. Of the five times in 2008 that the Rangers have been held scoreless, four have come in the past eight games.