Frightening moment, but luckily Cobb will be OK. (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

The Mariners struck in the first inning despite having 2 outs and nobody on because Cobb walked 2 sandwiched around a single before a Michael Saunders 2-run base hit gavet he Mariners a quick 2-0 lead. Never fun to trail, but a scarier moment happened in the second inning with 2 outs and a man on htird. Ichiro hit a hard groundball that deflected off of Cobb’s right leg. Cobb got up and fired home to nab the runner, but he had to leave the  game. Good news is that Cobb simply has a bruise on the leg, with x-rays being negative, and that Cobb hopes to make his next start. But in this game, the Rays bullpen was faced with quite a task, needing to toss the final 7 innings of the game (praying that there wouldn’t be an extra-inning affair like the 14 inning thriller on Friday). Joe Maddon went to lefty Cesar Ramos, called up from Triple-A Durham before the game.

Ramos was unbelievable and as good as the Rays possibly could have hoped, going 4 shutout innings allowing just 2 hits, striking out 6 while walking none. He and Cobb combined to allow just 2 runs in 6 innings. But unfortunately on the other end, Jason Vargas was great for the Mariners. The Rays finally scored in the 7th, but only on an aberrant error by Ichiro Suzuki to make it a 2-1 game. Vargas went 6+ innings allowing just an unearned run on 7 hits, striking out 5 while walking 3 for the M’s. Burke Badenhop, Joel Peralta, and Wade Davis tossed the final 3 innings scoreless for the Rays, with Peralta striking out the side in the 8th, but the Seattle bullpen did the same as the Mariners won 2-1. Vargas (10-7) was the winner, Cobb (4-7) took a tough loss, and Tom Wilhelmsen saved his 9th game for the Mariners. The Rays managed just 1 run thanks to a 0 for 6 day with runners in scoring position, and despite great pitching following the tough first, the lack of offense proved to be the difference. The Rays hope to take the series versus Seattle on Sunday at 1:40 PM with Matt Moore matching up against Blake Beavan. The first two games of this series have been tight 1-run affairs, and hopefully we’re in for a finale that keeps us on our seats as well.

Tampa got two quick runs in the bottom of the first inning against Mariners starter Hector Noesi. Ben Zobrist walked with one out, and Matt Joyce tripled off the wall in center just over the glove of Michael Saunders. After a Carlos Pena walk, Luke Scott hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Joyce and giving the Rays a quick 2-0 lead. Moore got a double play in the top of the 2^nd, and recorded his third strikeout of the game.

In the top of the 3^rd, Michael Saunders hit a solo home run on the first pitch, a fastball that Moore missed and left inside. Matt Joyce answered Saunders’ blast with a resounding one of his own in the bottom of the 3^rd, making it a 3-1 ball game. No more runs would be scored in the game, as both teams’ pitching was on lockdown. Joyce’s home run was the last hit the Rays would get in the game.

Moore got into some trouble in the 4^th inning; however, he got back to back swinging strikeouts to end the inning, stranding runners on 1^st and 2^nd. Moore mirrored his 4^th inning in the following frame. He got back to back swinging strikeouts to start the inning, then gave up back to back singles before getting Justin Smoak to fly out to center. It was Moore’s last inning, as he ended up spreading seven hits and one walk over five innings, while striking out seven. His command was off the entire day as he experienced tons of difficulty hitting his spots and missed wildly several times, but he fought to hold the Mariners to just one run.

We're still waiting to see Moore at this best. But now he finally has his first win of the season, and hopefully it's just the start. (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

The Rays reached base twice in the 6^th inning with two walks, but could not get score any insurance runs. Badenhop pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 7^th, and Joel Peralta relieved him in the 8^th. Peralta gave up a two out double to Jesus Montero, his fourth hit of the game, but the Mariners could not drive him home. On a day that Kyle Farnsworth was put on the 60 day DL to allow infielder Will Rhymes to replace Evan Longoria on the 25-man roster, Joe Maddon should count his blessings- Fernando Rodney has been lights out all season. Rodney stuck out the side in the 9^th, recording his 8^th save in as many chances.

Although the Rays’ offense was silenced from the third inning on, they were able to win this game by the bat of Matt Joyce and the bullpen. Joyce went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Desmond Jennings had the teams only other hit. Carlos Pena did reach base twice on two walks; although his average has dipped to .282, his OBP is still a robust .419 on the season. Badenhop had a nice bounce-back performance after giving up 4 earned runs in his last inning pitched. The bullpen only allowed two hits over four innings, striking out five. Moore lowered his ERA to 4.20, but is still struggling to go deep into games. Hopefully that will soon change.

On a day filled with bad news about Longoria and Farnsworth, it was nice for the Rays to pick up a win despite a quiet offense that managed just 3 hits. They look to clinch the four game series again the Mariners tomorrow night at 7:10 as James Shields takes on Blake Beavan.