A day into the month of May, the Tampa Bay Rays are still in first place in the American League East. In a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, Matt Garza went 6 innings strong, surrendering just 2 earned runs on 3 hits. He’d strike out 3, and walk 2.

“His fastball had life, good velocity,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said of Garza. “He pitched just high enough to tease some guys. There were some at-bats where, obviously, we got ourselves out chasing some bad pitches.”

A strong-point for the Rays in this game (and the whole season to this point) was their bullpen. Following Garza, former Met Dan Wheeler came in to pitch 2 scoreless innings, and Troy Percival closed the door for his 6th save of the season.

“I like the way they’re handling the whole thing,” manager Joe Maddon said. “They are coming out on a daily basis and believe they can win that game regardless of who we’re playing or who is pitching.”

Tampa Bay spread their offense out throughout the game. Their first run came in the 1st inning, when a Carlos Pena groundout scored Carl Crawford. Jonny Gomes hit a solo shot in the 4th inning, and a 2 run single off the bat of Crawford in the 7th plated both Shawn Riggans and Jason Bartlett. Despite taking the loss, Orioles starter Brian Burres felt he did everything possible to help his team win.

“Every time I go out there, I feel good,” Burres said. “I feel like I’m going to throw strikes and try to give my team a chance to win. I don’t really think about it at all. I just go out there and concentrate on what I’ve got to do.”