Burrell provides punch as Rays outlast Orioles

ST. PETERSBURG - If the Rays are to make the run they need in the season's final weeks, they'll have to get a lot more out of Pat Burrell and B.J. Upton than they have most of this season.

In that regard, Tuesday's 5-4 victory against the Orioles was a positive sign for two of their most maligned players.
Upton pounded out three hits, finishing a double short of the cycle as he cracked his first home run since June 30, and Burrell had a pair of hits including a homer after being serenaded by boos from the home crowd when he struck out in his first at-bat.

Between them, Upton and Burrell either scored or drove in all but one of the Rays' runs as Tampa Bay kept inching toward real forward momentum by taking the series opener against the last-place Orioles.

Having both of them contributing at levels unseen this year undoubtedly would provide the biggest boost, but Tuesday seemed a bigger step for Upton. As Manager Joe Maddon noted, Burrell had been chugging along lately, his average inching up and the home runs coming here and there even though he has never really caught fire.

Pat's been steadily looking like that; B.J. has not," Maddon said. "That's a nice little moment for him tonight, and it's all about confidence. If he just gets his confidence going right now and gets that feeling and he goes up there and he knows he can drive a ball, it's going to make all the difference in the world."



(tbo.com)