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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Rays 8, Yankees 6: Post-game notes

Posted Apr 8, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated Apr 8, 2012 at 12:05 AM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG Unless you know the history of this team it would be hard to believe the Rays are off to the second best start in team history and all they have done is win their first two games of the season.

They’ve matched the 2010 team, who also started 2-0, and are a win from tying the 2002 squad that began the year with a three-game sweep of the visiting Tigers. It was down hill after that, as the 2002 squad lost 106 times.

Here are some notes from Saturday’s 8-6 win against the visiting Yankees ….

—The Rays have now won seven straight dating back to last season, including a club record six straight against the Yankees.

—It took the rays 16 innings to score 15 runs this season. It took them 63 innings to score 15 times last season.

—Carlos Peña made his second career start as the No. 2 hitter. He was 0-for-7 batting second before his second inning RBI single.

Peña now has six RBI in two games. It took him 27 games to drive in six runs last season when he played for the Cubs.

—Luke Scott made his first start as a Ray and drove in three runs. He faced Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda for the first time in his career and was 3-for-3 with a double. He did that while seeing only six pitches.

—Burke Badenhop and Fernando Rodney each three one pitch Saturday.

Badenhop got Derek Jeter to hit into an inning ending double in the seventh, and Rodney got Alex Rodriguez to bounce out to short to end the game.

It was Rodney’s first save as a Ray and the second one-pitch save of this career.

Badenhop has appeared in both games, throwing one pitch in each. He got a ground ball to third in Friday’s opener by Evan Longoria booted the ball for an error.

—Longoria had an opposite field, two-run home run in the seventh inning overturned by reply. A fan leaned over the right field wall and caught the ball. He was awarded a ground rule double and scored behind Peña on a bloop single to left by Matt Joyce.

In his last six games against the Yankees, Longoria is 9-for-17 with three home runs, six RBIs and 10 walks.

—Joyce, who struck out four times Friday, was moved to the cleanup spot and drove in three runs with a solo home run in the third inning and the two-run hit in the seventh.

—The Rays have won the last 32 times when they’ve scored at least five runs. That’s the longest active streak in the majors.

—Their seven-game winning streak is also the longest active streak in the majors.