Good pitching beats good pitching

The Rays have three wins this season against Roy Halladay, and this is how they did it: With good pitching.

Friday's starter Matt Garza went nine innings. He allowed five hits and two runs. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter in the Rays 4-2, 10-inning victory. That's the key. No freebies.

That's how you beat good pitching. You pitch just as well, because Halladay may give up two runs, maybe even three, but he's not going to get smacked around.

And J.P. Howell, the Rays closer, closed out the 10th for his 11th save.

That's how you bounce back from being on the wrong side of a perfect game. You focus on the game at hand and beat Halladay, one of the best, if not thee best pitcher in the game.

At worst, the Rays go 5-5 on this 10-game road trip.