RUPE 1-HITS A'S

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ryan Rupe carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning and Aubrey Huff left the yard and had 2 RBI at Tropicana Field as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Oakland Athletics by the count of 4 to 0.

Rupe(2-6) escaped virtually unscathed against the Oakland hitters.  He surrendered only 1 hit and 3 walks in 9 innings. The right-handed Rupe lost his chance for a no-hitter when Terrence Long hit an infield single. with one out in the 8th inning.  Tampa Bay managed only 5 hits on the night. 

Cory Lidle(5-4) was the losing pitcher.  With this win, Tampa Bay has a 25-65 record.  They have been 4-6 lately.  With the loss, the Oakland ballclub's record is 51-42.  They remain 7 games behind Anaheim.

Around the League: • The Yankees lead the American League Wild Card by 4 games over Chicago.  Seattle and Oakland trail at 4.5 games back. • Andy Ashby of the Padres is the best pitcher in the league at holding runners.  Only 42% of would-be base-stealers have stolen off Ashby (league best). • Miguel Batista of the Diamondbacks has allowed just 4 home runs in 96 innings pitched this year.  His 0.38 HR/9 innings mark is best in majors. • The incredible Boston Red Sox are 11-2 in July and hold an incredible 62-28 record so far this season.  They're on pace to win 112 games this year. • The Tampa Bay Devil Rays (25-65) own the Majors' worst record and are on pace to lose 117 games this season.

BOXSCORE: 2002 Oakland Athletics At 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays       7/15/2002

  Athletics          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Devil Rays         AB  R  H RBI AVG
  S.Hatteberg 1B      4  0  0  0 .274     R.Winn CF           4  0  1  1 .281 
  M.Ellis 2B          4  0  0  0 .289     B.Abernathy 2B      4  1  1  0 .238 
  M.Tejada SS         4  0  0  0 .245     S.Cox 1B            4  0  0  0 .253 
  E.Chavez 3B         3  0  0  0 .261     A.Huff DH           4  2  2  2 .331 
  D.Justice LF        2  0  0  0 .220     B.Grieve RF         3  0  0  0 .247 
  J.Dye RF            3  0  0  0 .264     T.Hall C            4  0  1  0 .216 
  J.Mabry DH          2  0  0  0 .279     J.Sandberg 3B       3  1  0  0 .194 
  T.Long CF           3  0  1  0 .237     C.Gomez SS          1  0  0  0 .214 
  G.Myers C           3  0  0  0 .204     J.Conti LF          3  0  0  0 .290 
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     
         Totals      28  0  1  0                 Totals      30  4  5  3


Athletics....... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  2
Devil Rays...... 0 0 0  1 1 0  0 2    -  4  5  0

Athletics (51-42)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Lidle LOSS(5-4)         7       3   2   1   3   3   1 102   3.83  A1 C9
J.Mecir                   0 1/3   1   1   1   0   0   0   6   3.48  D1 D2
M.Venafro                 0 2/3   1   1   0   0   0   0  12   3.81  D3
Totals                    8       5   4   2   3   3   1

Devil Rays (25-65)       IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA  SCORESHEET
R.Rupe WIN(2-6)           9       1   0   0   3   5   0 108   5.20  A1
Totals                    9       1   0   0   3   5   0

ATTENDANCE- 12,628 DATE- Monday, July 15th 2002 TIME- Night
UMPIRES- Derryl Cousins, Alfonzo Marquez, Scott Packard, Jeff Nelson
T- 2:34
LEFT ON BASE- Athletics: 4  Devil Rays: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Athletics: 1  Devil Rays: 0
ERRORS- M.Tejada, C.Lidle
TRIPLES- A.Huff(1st)
HOME RUNS- A.Huff(5th)
WALKS- E.Chavez, D.Justice, J.Mabry, B.Grieve, C.Gomez-2
STRIKE OUTS- M.Ellis-2, M.Tejada-2, J.Dye, S.Cox, B.Grieve, J.Sandberg
GIDP- R.Winn
PASSED BALLS- G.Myers