Zambrano ends on a roll

Reference By TOM JONES © St. Petersburg Times published March 28, 2003

CLEARWATER -- The Devil Rays' opening-day starter might be struggling, but their No. 2 pitcher looks in regular-season form.

Make that fine regular-season form.

One day after staff ace Joe Kennedy finished a dreadful spring by getting pounded by the Yankees, Victor Zambrano was just about perfect against the Phillies on Thursday at Jack Russell Stadium.

Zambrano retired the first 12 batters and didn't give up a hit in five scoreless and impressive innings as the Rays no-hit the Phillies 8-0.

"I'm glad for the opportunity to be the No. 2 starter, and I have felt good all spring," Zambrano said. "The team has played (well) behind me, and tonight the defense was really good."

It really didn't need to be.

The only hiccup Zambrano suffered came in the fifth inning. After retiring the Phillies in order through four, Zambrano hit Pat Burrell in the head on an off-speed pitch that got away. He then hit the next batter, David Bell, on the thigh. But a double play and a popup got him out of trouble.

The performance capped a solid spring for Zambrano. In 22 innings against major-league lineups, Zambrano allowed 11 hits and five runs with 16 strikeouts and three walks.

"When I was back in my country (Venezuela), I worked very hard to get ready for spring training," Zambrano said. "And I've been getting better each (start) all spring. I'm ready to go."

JONNY BE GOOD: What a night for the Rays' Jonny Gomes, who is expected to start the season at Double-A Orlando.

Called up for Thursday's game, Gomes homered in his first-ever spring at-bat, a three-run blast on the second pitch.

He then made a diving catch in left with two outs in the eighth to preserve the no-hitter.

This comes after the 22-year-old has a heart attack Christmas Eve.

When the game was over, Rays manager Lou Piniella said Gomes had tears in his eyes.

"Back at Christmas, I was laying in a hospital bed for five days," Gomes said. "I didn't know if I was going to get shut down. To be here, it was a pretty emotional night for me."

It isn't sure if Piniella was serious, but he said he was going to take another look at Gomes and might use him as a designated hitter today.

"Hey," Piniella said. "We keep saying we're looking for right-handed power."

THANKS BUT NO THANKS: The Rays will not be bringing back outfielder Adrian Brown. The Rays rejected the tender of his contract after he was offered back by the Red Sox as a Rule 5 player.

His contract stays with the Red Sox, who likely will send Brown to the minors.

STOLEN MOMENTS: Perhaps the brightest, and certainly the fastest, star for the Rays this spring has been outfielder Carl Crawford. Entering play Thursday, the leadoff hitter was batting .303 with a .343 on-base percentage.

Most impressively, though, he stole his ninth base of the spring Thursday. That's tops in the majors.

That fits in well with Piniella's style. Over the past four years, Piniella's teams have attempted and stolen more bases than any team in the majors.

GAME DETAILS: The Rays took a 4-0 lead with two runs each in the first and second innings. Former Phillie Travis Lee, booed by the Clearwater crowd, delivered a two-run double in the first. Crawford and Rocco Baldelli, who went 3-for-4, had run-scoring hits in the second. ... Catcher Javier Valentin had a pair of singles. ... Rey Ordonez went 3-for-4.

MISCELLANY: Pitcher Dan Reichert, released by the Rays two weeks ago, signed a minor-league with Toronto on Thursday. ... Damian Rolls returned to the Rays. He missed Wednesday's game to attend the birth of his daughter.