SARASOTA AND ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WWSB) – It was billed as \u2018The Battle for Paradise,\u2019 but the only battle on Saturday night in Lakewood Ranch was with Mother Nature.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And while the Premier Sports Campus doesn\u2019t have a roof for their playing field, there was a team not too far away that did.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Entering this series, the Rays were outscoring opponents 48-14 in their last ten outings.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And when your pitchers are on their game, that\u2019s all the run support they need.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And as for the Paradise, they now shift their focus to One Knox SC, and a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee next Saturday.<\/p>\n
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