SARASOTA AND ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WWSB) – It was billed as ‘The Battle for Paradise,’ but the only battle on Saturday night in Lakewood Ranch was with Mother Nature.
The Sarasota Paradise and FC Naples were supposed to face off for the third time this season, but severe weather forced the game to first be delayed, then rescheduled for a later date to be determined.
And while the Premier Sports Campus doesn’t have a roof for their playing field, there was a team not too far away that did.
The Rays even more thankful for their new roof at Tropicana Field today, as they hosted the White Sox in game two of a three-game home series in St. Petersburg.
The Rays were victorious in their three previous series, but need a win on Saturday and Sunday to extend that streak to four-straight series after a 6-1 loss to Chicago on Friday night at the Trop.
Entering this series, the Rays were outscoring opponents 48-14 in their last ten outings.
After skewing from that trend on Friday, Tampa Bay gave the ball to All-Star Drew Rasmussen, who in turn mowed down ten White Sox batters through six scoreless innings.
It was scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nick Fortes hit a sharp liner to bring home Jonny Deluca from third base, giving Tampa Bay the 1-0 edge.
And when your pitchers are on their game, that’s all the run support they need.
Five Rays pitcher struck out sixteen White Sox batters. Another All-Star in relief pitcher Bryan Baker, recorded his American League-leading 31st save of the season to close out the game.
The Rays earn a 1-0 victory, and still have the opportunity to win a fourth-straight series if they can get by Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Gametime at Tropicana Field is set for 1:40 p.m.
And as for the Paradise, they now shift their focus to One Knox SC, and a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee next Saturday.
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