ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Randall Delgado was done
in by too many walks.
Alex Cobb won his first start
of the season, Matt Joyce hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat
the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Saturday.
Delgado (2-4)
lasted just four innings, allowing four runs, three hits and five
walks.
After Tampa Bay loaded the bases on a pair of a
walks and a single in the third, Joyce put the Rays up 4-2 when he sent
a 2-0 pitch from Delgado over the center-field
fence.
"I was looking for the double play," Delgado
said. "I tried to keep the ball down, but it caught the middle and he
hit it."
Delgado threw just 43 of 84 pitches for
strikes.
"His stuff was there," Braves catcher Brian
McCann said. "Today was just one of those days where he couldn't locate
as well as he wanted."
The five walks were a career
high.
"It was a learning start for him," Braves
manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Just fell behind hitters. When you're
dealing with a young kid, there's going to be times like
this."
Cobb (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in
seven innings. He retired his last 10 batters.
Cobb
was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Friday night to take the place of
Jeff Niemann, who is on the 60-day disabled list with an injured right
leg. The 24-year-old righty went 3-2 in nine starts for Tampa Bay last
season.
Joel Peralta pitched the eighth before
Fernando Rodney got the final three outs for his 13th
save.
The Braves had scoring chances in each of the
first four innings, but Cobb induced two double-play
grounders.
"We kind of let him off the hook I think
there early," McCann said. "Then he fell into a rhythm and he got ahead
of everybody after that. The fourth inning, he started really pounding
the zone, really trusting his fastball."
Braves third
baseman Chipper Jones was out of the lineup because of a bruised left
calf. He took a hard one-hop shot off the bat of B.J. Upton in Friday
night's 5-3 win over the Rays. Gonzalez is hopeful that Jones will be
able to play again by Monday.
Sean Rodriguez extended
the Rays' advantage to 5-2 on a sixth-inning solo
homer.
Juan Francisco had an RBI single and Eric
Hinske hit a sacrifice fly as the Braves took a 2-0 lead in the
second.
"You felt like you were in the game the whole
time, you really did," Gonzalez said.
The Rays
threatened during the second, but Braves right fielder Jason Heyward
caught Will Rhymes' fly ball and then threw out Carlos Pena, who tried
to score from third.
Rhymes returned to lineup after
missing two games with a bruised right forearm. He was hit by a pitch on
Wednesday, fainted after walking to first base and had to be driven off
the field on a cart.
NOTES:
Braves LF Martin Prado went 0 for 3, which snapped his 10-game hitting
streak. ... Delgado has given up two grand slams this season. The other
was hit by Arizona's Gerardo Parra on April 22. ... Tampa Bay 3B Evan
Longoria (partial tear left hamstring) increased his agility work on the
infield while fielding grounders before the game. ... Atlanta RHP Tim
Hudson (2-1) and Tampa Bay LHP David Price (6-2) are Sunday's scheduled
starters. Hudson has a 7-1 career mark against the Rays.
