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  Friday, Apr. 7 7:15pm ET
Indians take advantage of sub-par Guzman
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Juan Guzman sensed trouble long before Omar Vizquel's grand slam.

One of Tampa Bay's big offseason acquisitions felt tightness in his shoulder when he was warming up Friday night to face the Cleveland Indians, and his debut with the Devil Rays turned ugly in the second inning of a 14-5 loss.

Omar Vizquel
Omar Vizquel's grand slam was one of three Indians homers in the fifth.
Vizquel hit his fourth career grand slam and Jim Thome followed with a monster solo shot off Guzman to key a nine-run inning that also featured David Justice's two-run homer off Dave Eiland.

Travis Fryman added a three-run double for the Indians, who were 3-for-4 with 10 RBI when batting with the bases loaded. Six of those runs came off Guzman (0-1) in the second when Cleveland sent 12 batters to the plate.

Now Guzman is headed for the 15-day disabled list with a problem that began in spring training. He said he'll have an MRI exam Saturday, when he'll also go on the DL.

"He's not right. That's perfectly clear after tonight," Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. "He's going to go on the DL, get checked and get it right. That was not the kind of pitcher he is."

Jaret Wright (1-0) limited the Devil Rays to three doubles, including a pair by Jose Canseco, and two runs in five innings. He struck out four and walked six before being replaced by Bobby Witt, who allowed Bubba Trammell's pinch homer in the sixth.

Vizquel's grand slam off Guzman and Justice's two-run homer off Eiland caused more damage, but Thome's towering solo drive off Guzman was more impressive -- striking a catwalk about 100 feet above center field at Tropicana Field.

Guzman, signed in January as the Devil Rays' projected No. 1 starter, missed two weeks of spring training because of soreness in his shoulder and gave up 11 runs in 3 2/3 innings in his last spring appearance April 1.

Still, he and the Devil Rays thought he progressed that day and was ready to begin the season.

"I'm really disappointed. I've been working so hard," Guzman said. "I felt it during warmups when I went out. I tried to throw hard. The velocity is not there. It's still sore.

"Basically my last three years I've pitched more than 200 innings and I've been healthy. I wanted to keep it going, but it looks like things are going to change."

Einar Diaz singled in his first at-bat of the season to drive in two runs after the Indians loaded the bases with no outs on two singles and a walk. Kenny Lofton's bunt single reloaded the bases for Vizquel, who hit an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands to put Cleveland up 7-1.

"I seem to concentrate more with the bases loaded. I just wanted to hit the ball square," Vizquel said. "That pitch was hanging. I was just trying to hit a sac fly to get one run in."

Thome homered two outs later, ending Guzman's night. The right-hander allowed eight runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out three in 1 2/3 innings, his shortest outing not related to an injury since going 1 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees on May 19, 1995.

Guzman faced two batters on May 13, 1997, at Detroit, leaving because of arm fatigue and tightness.

Eiland hit the first batter he faced, then gave up a two-run homer to Justice. Fryman delivered his three-run double off the reliever after Cleveland loaded the bases with two singles and a walk in the fourth, making it 13-1.

Wright was bothered much of last season by a strained muscle behind his right shoulder, making only eight starts in the second half and winning just once in six decisions after the All-Star break.

He allowed Canseco's RBI double in the first inning, then didn't give up another hit until the fifth when Canseco doubled off the second-highest of four catwalks that support the roof in the domed stadium.

The hit, which actually traveled about 50 feet higher than Thome's, was not ruled a home run because ground rules state that balls striking the two highest structures that ring the outfield are live and played from where they drop.

"We scored a lot of runs. I felt good," Wright said. "I was trying to keep the ball down. When you score runs like that, you're just trying to throw strikes."

Dave Martinez, who walked ahead of Canseco's second double, scored on Fred McGriff's sacrifice fly.

Game notes
The crowd of 40,177 was up from the 35,709 Tampa Bay drew for its home opener a year ago. ... The Devil Rays retired Wade Boggs' No. 12 during a pregame ceremony. ... Vizquel's last grand slam was May 23, 1999, off Detroit's Todd Jones. ... Cleveland's Richie Sexson was 0-for-10 before singling in the second inning. ... The game was the first in the majors played on FieldTurf, a new artificial surface that looks and plays more like natural grass.

 


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