Saturday, Oct. 04, 2008

RAYS NOTES: Aybar fills in nicely for Peña

The vision in Carlos Pena's left eye was still too blurry Friday for him to play. No problem. The Rays have Willy Aybar.

Aybar, who was supposed to start at designated hitter, switched to first base and scored the Rays first run of their 6-2 victory against the White Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

Aybar, who entered the game 0-for-6 lifetime against Chicago starter Mark Buehrle, had two hits, including a double, and a sacrifice in three at-bats against the lefty.

It was Aybar's first career start. He is now 3-for-5 (.600) with an RBI and two runs scored in the first two games of the series.

CC is OK

Carl Crawford was moved to the third spot in the order to replace Peña and responded by going 2-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored.

He is 3-for-8 with two RBI since returning from surgery on the middle finger of his right hand in time to play the first two games of this series.

"I'm not 100 percent, but I feel I can help the team out," Crawford said.

Against the wall

The White Sox find themselves in a familiar situation, having to win or go home.

The Sox, who trail the Rays 0-2 in the this best-of-five ALDS, were in this same situation earlier this week when they had tow in three straight game to win the American League Central.

"We know what we got to do," Jermaine Dye said. "We got to win three in a row and if not, we go home."

Said manager Ozzie Guillen: "We're against he wall. We've got to fight like a cat, and now it's a must-win game."

Baldelli starts

Rocco Baldelli made his first start of the postseason Friday, serving as the Rays designated hitter.

He was supposed to start in right field, but was shifted when Peña was scratched from the lineup.

Baldelli was 1-for-4, singling home a run in the Rays three-run eighth. He then scored all the way from first on a bloop double by Dioner Navarro.

Dye is hot

Jermaine Dye was 4-for-5, recording the first four-hit game by a White Sox in the postseason since Time Raines did it Oct. 3, 1993 in Game 3 of the ALCS against Toronto. All four of Dye's hits were singles. The right fielder is 5-for-9 over the first two games of this series.

In 42 post-season games, Dye is hitting .276 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

Looking good

Of the 32 teams who have taken a 2-0 lead in a division series, 27 have gone on to win the series, and 21 of recorded a sweep. The Rays are the second expansion team to win their first two postseason games - the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays won the first two games of the American League Championship Series against the Royals before losing that series in seven.

Home boys

Counting the first two games of the playoffs, the Rays are 59-24 at home for a winning percentage of .711. They were a major-league best 57-24 (.704) at the Trop during the regular season.

Joining the club

Akinori Iwamura became the fifth Japanese-born player to hit a postseason home run, joining Tadahito Iguchi, Hideki Matsui, So Taguchi and Kazuo Matsui, A Japanese-born player has homered in every postseason since Matsui became the first to do so in the 2003 American League Division Series for the New York Yankees.

Speed, speed, speed

Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Fernando Perez started in the outfield for the first time. The trio combined to steal 117 bases this season between Triple A and the majors. Between the three, they have 12 seasons of 40 or more steals.

NOTEWORTHY

The Rays have now come from behind by at least two runs in each of their last five wins, including the first two games of the ALDS. They trailed 3-1 in Game 1 and 2-0 in Game 2 ... The White Sox have lost eight straight postseason games ... James Shields and Scott Kazmir earned victories in their first postseason starts ... The White Sox left 12 runners on base. They were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They are 4-for-17 with RISP over the first two games ... All 12 of the White Sox hits were singles ... Mark Buehrle lost for the first time in six postseason starts. He is now 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in the postseason.