Offense thus far has been almost an all or nothing proposition for the Rays.
Friday was another good night, as the Rays scored eight runs to win. Now, the challenge is to do it more consistently.
"We did a lot of good things," manager Joe Maddon said. "We were better. The at-bats were good. A lot of guys are starting to look more like they're supposed to look."
They just haven't looked that way enough yet.
In their seven wins, they've averaged 8.6 runs and hit .353; in their 10 losses, they've averaged 2.1 runs and hit .196.
So a little consistency would be good.
"We just try to focus on what we can control, and that is (from No. to No.9 in the lineup) having some good at-bats, and when we do that, we're going to be able to score a lot of runs," Carlos Pena said. "And when we don't, whether it's from a lack of focus or sometimes we just get a pretty good pitcher like we did in Seattle (Felix Hernandez), I think it shows. When we're putting good at-bats together, we took a lot of pitches in the first inning, it's a good sign, and the next thing you know we're on the board."
RAYS 8, A'S 2: 1B Carlos Pena hit two home runs to take over the major-league lead with eight, and LHP Scott Kazmir rebounded from a rough start to work six shutout innings.
