Kazmir Outduels Willis, Shuts Out Marlins
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By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer
May 21, 2006, 5:17 PM EDT
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Scott Kazmir kept the Florida Marlins guessing all day long.
"He had it all going on," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said Sunday. "Fastball, slider, changeup. Both sides of the plate, up and down."
Kazmir allowed four hits and matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts in eight innings, helping the Devil Rays beat Dontrelle Willis and the punchless Marlins 3-0 for the young left-hander's fifth straight win.
At 22, Kazmir is the youngest major league pitcher to win seven games this early in a season since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
"He's got great stuff, and he knows how to pitch. He's proved that," Marlins manager Joe Girardi said. "He's been on a roll. I think he took a few lumps the first half of the season last year. Since then, he's been as good as anyone in baseball."
Kazmir (7-2) shares the major league lead in wins. He held the Marlins to three singles and Miguel Cabrera's fourth-inning double while limiting an opponent to one or fewer earned runs for the fifth consecutive start.
The lefty walked one and hit a batter before departing after 119 pitches. Tyler Walker worked the ninth for his eighth save in nine opportunities.
"I felt in a groove the whole game," said Kazmir, who didn't get his first win last season until May 19.
"This is the best I've felt, by far, definitely. I'm a whole new pitcher. I'm more comfortable with all of my pitches."
Jonny Gomes keyed a three-run fifth inning with a RBI triple off Willis (1-5), who allowed eight hits in his first complete game of the season.
Ty Wigginton and Greg Norton also drove runs in the fifth for the Devil Rays, who swept the weekend series and have won a season-high four straight games.
The Marlins have lost seven in a row, their longest skid since losing eight in a row from July 7-18, 2002.
Willis worked out of jams with runners in scoring position in the first, second and third innings, but couldn't wiggle off the hook after giving up a one-out single to Julio Lugo in the fifth.
Gomes broke the scoreless tie with his triple to right-center, then trotted home on Wigginton's RBI single for a 2-0 lead. Norton finished the inning with a run-scoring single that gave Kazmir added insurance.
"You could see when he got the lead that he turned it up. To me, that's the mark of an ace and a winner," Girardi said.
"He's got three out pitches. Whenever you have a starting pitcher with three out pitches, they're dangerous. They're going to rack up strikeouts and they're going to go deep into games. You don't get the same look at them."
Comments (32)
Who cares about Scott kazmir. Let it go. He is a Devil Ray. let's focus on the players that are on our team now, last i checked we are doing pretty well. Who is to say that Kazmir would have handled NY anyway.
Who cares about Scott kazmir. Let it go. He is a Devil Ray. let's focus on the players that are on our team now, last i checked we are doing pretty well. Who is to say that Kazmir would have handled NY anyway.
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