Scott Kazmir had not pitched since May 20 when he faced the Oakland A’s. He had been on the disabled list with a quad injury until pitching against the Florida Marlins on Saturday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. After 32 days of being on the disabled list, he looked refreshed as he played one of his best outings of the season. His five strikeouts over five innings of work was impressive as he showed the form that made him a two time All-Star. The 2 earned runs given up by Kazmir came in the first and third innings which gave the Marlins a quick 2-0 lead. That did not last long because the Rays responded with runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie up the score 2-2. Kazmir’s control was outstanding as he threw 61 of 92 pitches for strikes and kept the Rays in the game. In fact, the score stayed 2-2 until the bottom of the ninth inning when pinch hitter Willy Aybar hit a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Jason Bartlett to win the game 3-2 over the Florida Marlins. The Tampa Bay Rays won 7-3 on Friday night in the Citrus Series opener and extended their winning streak to 4 games after Saturday night’s victory.
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