BallHype - Latest Scott Kazmir News Articles

Rays Left-Hander Kazmir Will Continue to Take the Mound Despite His Struggles

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +1900

BOSTON, Oct. 12 -- The Boston Red Sox are not the only ALCS participant facing questions regarding a onetime staff ace who is lined up to start Game 6. Like Boston's Josh Beckett, Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir struggled with inconsistency in Game 2 and had his manager fending off questions...

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Game 2 escalated quickly for Kazmir

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:16:00 +1900

Scott Kazmir started Game 2 of the American League Championship Series for the Rays and came away frustrated after throwing 98 pitches en route to a five-run, 4 1/3-inning outing. But despite the end result, manager Joe Maddon is confident in the left-hander for Game 6, should the series get that far.

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Many homers, and pitches, in Game 2

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:00:00 +1900

Five hours and 27 minutes elapsed during Saturday's American League Championship Series Game 2, bookending the moments when Scott Kazmir threw the game's first pitch over home plate and B.J. Upton popped its 433rd to end the night at Tropicana Field.

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Fagan: What we learned: Rough outings for starters make for record-setting day at The Trop

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:52:33 +1900

Both the Red Sox's Josh Beckett and Rays' Scott Kazmir are staff aces; yet both pitched like jokers in Game 2 of the ALCS.

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Beckett-Kazmir duel a dud

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:32:00 +1900

The Red Sox and the Rays wound up taking turns doing the Texas two-step atop each other's starting pitchers -- Josh Beckett and Scott Kazmir -- in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series.

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Sox shuffle lineup vs. Kazmir in Game 2

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:35:00 +1900

Sox manager Terry Francona had only one player in his Game 2 starting lineup who didn't play in Game 1, but several players moved around in the batting order.

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Rays-Red Sox: Game Two Preview

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:48:30 +1900

After a 2-0 loss in Game One, the Tampa Bay Rays will look to even the series with a win tonight. For Tampa Bay, Scott Kazmir will go (12-8, 3.49). For Boston, Josh Beckett will be on the hill (12-10, 4.03). Yesterday, Daisuke Matsuzaka paced the Red Sox by pitching a seven inning, four hit shutout. The Red Sox came up with little offense, but they didn't need a huge offensive attack. Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Jed Lowrie had an RBI sacrifice fly. Josh Beckett has the advantage. He was dominant of the Rays this year, with a 2.06 ERA, 37 strikeouts and just five walks in 35 innings. While the Rays can handle most fastballs from righties, Beckett is an exception. The Rays have the sixth best OPS against righty fastballs. Among the team leaders are Ben Zobrist (1.107), Evan Longoria (1.080), Carlos Pena (1.020), Eric Hinske (1.004) and Cliff Floyd (.955). However, against Beckett, the team OPS against fastballs is .658. Expect him to use his fastball more then his curve. His curve ...

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Tonight is Scott Kazmir's chance to make leap

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:40:55 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Seemingly forever, but not for as long as you think, Scott Kazmir was known for being a very good pitcher on a very bad team. "Put this guy...

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Inside the Matchups: ALCS Game 2

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:13:33 +1900

Ever since Major League Baseball decided to rejigger its playoff schedule, I haven't been able to understand this -- one game on Saturday and one game on Sunday? I know Saturday is a bad day for TV and Sunday afternoon you're going up against the NFL, but how can you have playoff series with weekend days off after a whole season where those days were jammed to the walls with baseball action? With that annual rant out of the way, let's take a look at the one game we do have on tap... RED SOX AT RAYS, GAME 2, 8:07 P.M. RED SOX LEAD, 1-0 Boston: Josh Beckett (12-10, 4.03 in regular season; 0-0, 7.20 in playoffs) The 28-year-old righthander struggled against the Angels in Game 3 of the division series, allowing four runs on nine hits in five innings after being bumped from Game 1 with an oblique injury. Beckett had also been knocked around in both of his regular-season starts against the Angels, so that might not have been so surprising. Against the Rays, however, Beckett has been excellent ...

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Kazmir continues to shadow Beckett

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:56:00 +1900

Scott Kazmir's career was intertwined with Josh Beckett in some way or another long before he arrived in the big leagues. Now that they're matched up for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, the comparisons are inescapable.

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Tonight is Scott Kazmir's chance to make leap

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:41:39 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Seemingly forever, but not for as long as you think, Scott Kazmir was known for being a very good pitcher on a very bad team. "Put this guy...

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ALCS: Matsuzaka Carries a No-Hitter Into Seventh Inning to Lift Red Sox

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 10 -- By midway through the first inning, they must have been running through complex bullpen scenarios on the Boston Red Sox' bench, so awful was the start to Daisuke Matsuzaka's night, so tenuous were his chances of getting even three outs. By the start of the seventh,...

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Josh Beckett, Scott Kazmir look to Game 2

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:52:37 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Josh Beckett is bracing for a stiff challenge from the Tampa Bay Rays i...

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Strong Management Has Rays Heading to ALCS

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 05:46:08 +1900

Around baseball, people often sneer "The Rays should be good. They've been picking at the top of the draft all these years." No doubt, the Rays' futility enabled them to obtain a number of top players (from left fielder Carl Crawford to center B.J. Upton to third baseman Evan Longoria) in the first and second rounds. But, let the Rays' appearance in the American League Championship Series serve as an object lesson to the Pirates, Royals, Orioles, and other sadsack major league franchises: Yes...you...can. Anyone who thinks the Rays are merely a product of high draft picks isn't paying attention. The Rays were built on trades (big and small), minor league free agents, and even low-round draft picks. Many of their players, at one time or another, were available to every club at little cost. Other teams shouldn't be envious when assessing the Rays' success. They should be embarrassed. The Rays' previous GM, Chuck LaMar, not only scored with Crawford, Upton, and outfielder Rocco Baldelli at the ...

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Rays-White Sox: ALDS Game Two Fan Reaction/Game Three Preview

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 19:21:33 +1900

I said someone had to step up if the Tampa Bay Rays wanted to beat battle-tested lefty Mark Buehrle in Game Two. That player for the Rays was second baseman Akinori Iwamura, hitting an opposite-field blast off Buerhle to take a one-run lead, which put the Rays ahead for good. Honestly though? Iwamura hitting a home run under playoff pressure? Maybe this is a sign that things are going too well for the Rays, and that they are destined for greatness this season. This is a guy who slaps the ball comparable to Ichiro, and hit six home runs in 627 at-bats this season. We all knew Rays' ace Scott Kazmir would be exceptional, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Baseball nation needs to start getting to know the Rays' bullpen, though. They were absolutely outstanding once again in preserving the win for Kazmir in Game Two. J.P. Howell threw two innings of scoreless baseball and left me wondering, where the hell did he come from? Howell went from 1-6 last season to 6-1 this year with a minuscule ...

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Gutsy start by Kazmir kept Rays in it

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 06:26:00 +1900

Scott Kazmir was mired in a bases-loaded jam with no outs in a lengthy first inning. But he wiggled free of the 37-pitch frame with just two runs allowed, and rebounded well enough to guide the Rays to a 6-2 victory over the White Sox to take a 2-0 series lead.

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Rays rally to beat White Sox 6-2

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 06:17:28 +1900

Young, resilient and a victory away from the American League Championship Series, Tampa Bay is breezing through the playoffs. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled...

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Kazmir settles the issue

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 05:31:05 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The bases were loaded, there were no outs and Tampa Bay Rays starter Scott Kazmir seemed about ready to implode Friday night in the first inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

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Iwamura's homer rallies Rays past White Sox 6-2

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 04:46:40 +1900

The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League championship series. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and the AL East champions beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 Friday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

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Tampa Bay Rays poke holes in Chicago White Sox

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 04:11:39 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League Championship Series. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky...

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Kazmir, Iwamura put Rays on cusp of ALDS sweep

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 03:08:42 +1900

Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

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Iwamura's Home Run Puts Rays in Command

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 02:55:20 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 3 -- The young, resilient Tampa Bay Rays are one win from breezing into the American League Championship Series.

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Rays take 2-0 lead in series against White Sox

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:55:00 +1900

All-Star Scott Kazmir settles down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hits a go-ahead, two-run homer and the AL East champions beat Chicago, 6-2. > The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League championship series.

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Rays beat White Sox to take 2-0 series lead

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:46:25 +1900

The Tampa Bay Rays survived a shaky start by Scott Kazmir to beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 Friday and forge a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five American League divisional series playoff.

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Rays rally to beat White Sox 6-2

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:36:43 +1900

The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League championship series. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after...

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Rays rally past ChiSox, take 2-0 lead (AP)

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:28:48 +1900

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Wise, Griffey sit against Kazmir

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 20:26:00 +1900

The White Sox have gone to a right-handed heavy lineup for Friday night's contest against the Rays and Scott Kazmir, the team's left-handed ace.

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Fraley: Kazmir must follow Shields' example in Game 2

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 12:38:46 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- James Shields is a righthander. Scott Kazmir is a lefthander. Shields ...

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Sox on verge of elimination after dropping Game 2

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 06:01:00 +1900

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League championship series. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and the AL East champions beat the White Sox 6-2 Friday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

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Rays-White Sox: ALDS Game One Fan Reaction

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 22:39:03 +1900

Ok, so maybe I was wrong about the Tampa Bay Rays' inexperience. Just look at the second and third innings for prime examples from one man—Evan Longoria. The rookie third baseman homered to left field in both innings. I'm not going to lie, I thought the Rays would struggle early in this series, but that certainly wasn't the case. A couple things surprised me about this game, though. Aside from the red-hot bats of the Rays, the pitching of James Shields was sensational in my mind. As TBS' PitchTracker technology showed the location of his pitches, I found myself baffled. The White Sox hitters were not only swinging over the top of most pitches, but also swung at a couple in the dirt. Save for Shields' hanging breaking ball to Dewayne Wise that resulted in a three-run jack, he was a dominant pitcher. The Rays got their first-ever playoff victory in style. Back to Longoria for a second, though. We knew how good he could be in the future, but this good this early? The kid is ...

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Kazmir can seize moment in Game 2

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 19:25:00 +1900

Manager Joe Maddon has faith that Scott Kazmir is on the verge of finding the consistency he's lacked all season. There's no better time for the young lefty to live up to Maddon's expectations than on Friday, when Kazmir takes the mound for the Rays in a critical Game 2 of its American League Division Series against the White Sox at Tropicana Field.

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