Vanden Hurk, Sonnanstine Square Off In Finale At Dolphin Stadium
(Sports Network) - Youngster Rick Vanden Hurk looks for his second major- league victory today when the Florida Marlins host the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the finale of a three-game all-Florida interleague series at Dolphin Stadium.A 6-foot-5, 195-pounder from the Netherlands, Vanden Hurk got the first win of his rookie season on June 5 at Atlanta, when he pitched six one-hit innings en route to a 5-1 defeat of the Braves. Previously, in three starts and one relief appearance, he's given up 19 hits and 17 runs in 12 innings. Vanden Hurk has never faced the Devil Rays. He is starting in place of Sergio Mitre, who's sidelined with a hamstring injury. Tampa Bay rookie Andy Sonnanstine takes the mound for the second time in his big-league career, following up on a June 5 outing at Toronto in which he gave up eight hits and six runs in seven innings while getting a no-decision in a 12-11 loss. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder was a 13th-round choice of the Devil Rays in the 2004 draft. On Friday, James Shields struck out nine batters over seven innings to remain unbeaten in six decisions this year, and Carlos Pena and Raul Casanova hit back-to-back homers to highlight Tampa Bay's 7-2 win over Florida. Shields (6-0) allowed six hits and two runs while not walking a batter. He is one of three Tampa Bay pitchers to win at least six straight decisions, joining Mark Hendrickson and Victor Zambrano. Hendrickson holds the team record at seven, from July 31 - Sept. 25, 2005. Ty Wigginton had three hits and scored once for the Devil Rays, who won for the fifth time in seven games. Dontrelle Willis (7-5) was saddled with the loss after surrendering eight hits and four runs over seven innings. Miguel Cabrera had three hits, including a two-run homer for Florida, which had a three-game winning streak broken. Florida swept a three-game series against the Devil Rays this season from May 18 - 20 at Tropicana Field. The Marlins are 100-73 all-time in interleague play, while Tampa Bay is 68-97 against the National League.
Copyright 2007 Courtesy of The Sports Network.









